October

OCT. 12

A monument to Union soldiers is torn down in Santa Fe, N.M.

A 33-foot-high monument that had stood for more than 150 years is toppled at a rally on Indigenous Peoples’ Day. Protesters used ropes and chains to pull down the obelisk, which was dedicated to Union soldiers who fought Civil War battles in New Mexico. It featured an inscription that honored the “heroes” who had fought against “savage Indians.”

Oct. 26

Philadelphia police officers fatally shoot Walter Wallace Jr.

Two Philadelphia police officers fatally shoot Walter Wallace Jr., a 27-year-old Black man who was armed with a knife.

In a video that circulates on social media, someone yells repeatedly at Mr. Wallace to “put the knife down.” The camera points toward the ground as about a dozen shots are heard. After Mr. Wallace falls to the ground, his mother screams and rushes to his body.

November

Nov. 3

Voters choose a new president on Election Day.

After winning the Democratic primary because of overwhelming strength from the party’s Black voters, Joseph R. Biden Jr. wins a decisive victory over President Trump, capturing the White House along with Kamala Harris, the first woman, first Black person and first Asian-American to serve as vice president. (The race, however, is not called by the news media for several days.)

Mr. Trump’s defeat, the rare ouster of an incumbent president after one term, comes after four chaotic years in which he fostered stark divisions among Americans, including his relentless scapegoating of migrants and people of color. Still, in an election that draws a surge in turnout among every American voting demographic, Mr. Trump wins larger percentages of voters of color in 2020 than he did in 2016.

Mississippi voters approve a new state flag with a magnolia flower and red, yellow and blue stripes, replacing the one from 1894 that featured the Confederate battle emblem. Rhode Island voters approve the removal of “and Providence Plantations” from the state’s official name.

December

Dec. 22

A Columbus police officer fatally shoots Andre Hill.

Andre Hill, a 47-year-old Black man, is killed by a police officer in Columbus, Ohio, weeks after a Franklin County sheriff’s deputy killed Casey Goodson, a Black man, setting off a round of protests against police brutality.