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2020 has been a trying year. The coronavirus pandemic has exposed society’s inequalities like few other things can, including racial inequality. After the murder of George Floyd last spring, many protests were held in American cities, including Washington. The Wizards and Mystics led a major protest and march on June 19.
Protests can start movements going. But they also require political action, and Election Day is next Tuesday, Nov. 3. Wizards guard Bradley Beal also mentioned something that he didn’t previously. According to Jerry Bembry of The Undefeated, Beal is also voting for the first time this year.
In the column, Beal explained that he didn’t feel that his vote mattered in the past. However, after becoming a parent and seeing the current situation in the United States, that has changed his mindset. He also explained that he looked into his family’s history and how they struggled to get the right to vote.
If you are wondering who Beal is endorsing for the President of the United States or his local House of Representatives race (he lives in Bethesda, Md.), he did not mention whom he would vote for in Bembry’s column.
Politics, especially in an increasingly polarized environment, isn’t fun. And that can turn people off from their easiest way to participate in the process, which is voting. And in a year like 2020, that has compelled many people, including Beal to vote. If you haven’t already, you should too.