this is "nightline." >> tonight, a look at the year 2020. a deadly pandemic, a divisive election, and the racial reckoning that locked this country. >> black lives matter! >> calls for justice and police reform heard across the country. >> we are scared, as black people in america. >> now the names remembered forever. >> say her name! >> breonna taylor! >> say his name! >> george floyd. socially distanced. turning to tiktok to wipe down pandemic worries. versus giving us the face-offs we never knew we needed. how the power of social media provided a sweet escape.

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♪ good evening. thank you for joining us. tonight, a look back at the highs and lows that define 2020. the deep-rooted stain of racism in america reaching a turning point this year. this as two more police officers

involved in the shooting death of breonna taylor are now set to be fired. a small victory for family and friends of the 26-year-old emt. her death and countless moments of racial unrest shaking this country to its core. >> what do we want? >> justice! >> when do we want it? >> now! >> america's got the greatest brochure in the world. >> reporter: a nation found on the belief that all men are created equal. >> we are a nation of high-minded ideals. that's what we've all been sold. >> no justice no peace! >> reporter: this year, a nation came to the realization many are still fighting for that promise. >> the reckoning that has been long overdue has finally come to bear in american society. >> reporter: that reckoning first awakened in february with the viral video of ahmaud arbery in georgia, accosted while jogging by a white father and son, then shot dead in the street. then breonna taylor, asleep with her boyfriend, later killed in a

surprise police raid inside her louisville apartment. >> what is this about? we're both just workers. >> often there's not a public outcry if there's not a viral video. >> reporter: in a video so shocking we won't show it, george floyd yelling "i can't breathe" more than 20 times under the knee of officer derek chauvin in minneapolis. >> the man ain't moving, bro! >> he wasn't resisting, he was being restrained. there was video of this incident. there was no way somebody could say he somehow sdcdeserved it. >> i can't breathe! >> reporter: disturbing nine-minute video opened pandora's box, unleashing the wrath behind footage highlighting a centuries-old issue. >> justice for ahmad! >> say her name! >> say his name! george floyd! >> reporter: many comparing this year's grassroots groundswell to the beginning of the civil

rights movement inspired by the lynching of a black teenager in 1955. >> emmett till, whose disfigured image was circulated around the world. >> the same way emmett till sparked a movement, george floyd is sparking a movement. >> black lives matter! >> i black lives matter, all the pushback we would receive. people would call us terrorists. >> reporter: but this time, protests spread to all 50 states, cities big and small, making it the biggest movement in u.s. history. >> black lives matter! black lives matter! >> reporter: those chants reverberating around the world. >> there's black folk there, white folk there, brown folk there, cis and trans folk there, queer folk there. >> reporter: the calls for equality expanding beyond race, marching for civil rights of all marginalized people. >> we are constantly in a civil rights people. this year we had the highest

year on record of deaths of transgender people in the united states. >> what's happening now is, i feel, an extension of what's going on in the '50s and '60s and even the early '70s. >> reporter: protests also surfacing in the world of professional sports. athletes in basketball, soccer, baseball, putting games on hold in the name of justice. >> we are scared, as black people in america. >> reporter: even our own black correspondents here at abc news open up about covering the story that hits too close to home. >> you know, this is really difficult. >> i am seeing an image of me, a black man, being killed on camera. >> it's hard to not think of yourself. >> reporter: peaceful demonstrations overshadowed by an eruption of violence, setting the stage for a summer of unrest. protesters clashing with police after curfew. looters taking advantage of the chaos. precincts like this one in

minneapolis up in flames. >> videotaping -- >> there's something on fire, a firecracker -- >> reporter: outside of cnn headquarters in atlanta. >> we cannot allow the rioting, the looting, the arson to continue in so many american cities. >> until we rid this nation of systemic injustice, those outrages will persist and the protests against them will continue to occur. >> reporter: president trump fanning the flames on twitter, calling protesters thugs. later warning, when the looting starts, the shooting starts. >> if these mayors and governors won't put a stop to it, the president would. >> he was aggressive. he sent these paramilitary militias through the department of homeland security up to places like portland, oregon, or kenosha, wisconsin. >> are you willing tonight to condemn white supremacists -- >> who would you like me to condemn? >> proud boys. >> stand back and stand by. >> the president sets the tone for the nation. the tone that he set was one of

anger, racism, bigotry, and white supremacy. >> fallout over the shocking video. dozens of buffalo police officers protesting the suspension of two colleagues seen shoving a 75-year-old protester. >> reporter: pressure mounts for meaningful police reform. many pushing to defund the police. >> defunding is saying, let's take money out of this place and put it in that place. let's defund the police and refund the community. >> the question becomes, who intervenes in the conflict, who responds to the harm? the police are the easiest, simplest, and laziest answer to those questions, not the best. >> reporter: major cities like philadelphia, portland, and baltimore pledging to cut or reallocate funding to support other services in the community. >> every police department right now is trying to figure out how do they reimagine what policing should be? >> reporter: chants quieting but signs the message is being

heard. confederate relics being relinquished as statues come down. nascar bans the confederate flag. the man who pushed for it? >> you can't force somebody to look at some perspective they don't want to, but you can encourage them. >> reporter: many corporations promising institutional changes by creating more diverse opportunity. >> the question now is, can we transform it from movement in the streets to movement in the suites? >> i think the jury's still out on that. >> reporter: in a year of reckoning, a nation taking those tough steps towards bridging its divide. >> there is growth, and there is hope. >> we keep trudging forward because we believe ultimately that right will win out. coming up, 2020 isn't over yet. how social media helped beat back pandemic blues one tiktok at a time.

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♪ with millions of americans staying at home this year, now the surge in social media users looking for digital distractions and searching for connection, but sometimes finding themselves swept away in the mix of misinformation. here's abc's eva pilgrim. >> reporter: social media was a double-edged sword this year. a source for desperately needed communication and connection. but also a potential breeding ground for turmoil and misinformation during the covid-19 pandemic. >> now to the growing number of

hoaxes popping up online -- >> public health experts are saying that mixed messages and misinformation can be just as dangerous as the virus itself -- >> the problem with the internet and social media sites is that you can choose any reality you want. >> you now have a prairie fire of misinformation. you have a prairie fire of conspiracy. >> reporter: as pressure mounted, new twitter and facebook policies were announced to curb the spread of misinformation. >> twitter is now flagging tweets that are misinformation. to see the president of the united states posting on twitter and a banner saying "this is false." how did we get to that point? >> because of all his crazy tweets, finally twitter was like, that's false! >> i do think we've got to completely reassess the way social media operates in this country. >> reporter: president trump

found another enemy this year in the social platform of choice for teens and tweens across the country. >> this morning the clock is ticking on tiktok. the stroke of a pen, president trump issuing executive orders, shutting down the wildly popular apps that have taken social media by storm. >> 2020 has thrown a lot at us. but when i thought tiktok was going away? i was not well. >> reporter: but the proposed ban never came to pass. and despite the drama, tiktokers danced and stunted their way through our year in isolation. tiktok dance challenges, from the wipe it down to something new, helped us to quell the boredom. >> that wipe it down? ♪ wipe wipe wipe it wipe >> every time i looked in the mirror, i was so cute. >> the cohoreography section of the tutorial section takes less time than explaining to grandpa what tiktok is. ♪ look i just flipped the switch ♪

>> i actually flipped the switch with my coanchor, michelle turner. but when i had to squeeze into her dress? and i couldn't zip it. i mean, look. she's a very fit and tiny woman. and i'm a very large man whose belly knows a good steak or two. >> reporter: on instagram live, versus music battles raged, featuring both contemporary stars and old-school music legends. >> hey, are you watching patti labelle and gladys knight on versus? if you didn't see, it was extraordinary. >> you know i can't hit that note. >> we got to see brandy and monica together, we got to see teddy riley and baby face together. ♪ it was so beautiful and heartwarming. >> reporter: 2020 provided a unique opportunity for newly minted social media stars, with an enormous audience stuck at home, social stars broke into

the mainstream like never before. >> i think sarah cooper was the breakout social star of 2020. she brought so much joy during this insane dark time. >> then i see the disinfectant that knocks it out in a minute, one minute, and is there a way we can do something like that? by injection inside or almost a cleaning? >> first glance you're like, she's just lip synch is trump. then you realize she's really exposing how ridiculous what he's saying is. >> someone calls it reverse mansplaining, which i think is a great term. he's mansplaining to us, then i'm mansplaining back to him how stupid he sounds. >> that's amazing, how did you do that? >> reporter: tabatha brown's first tiktok posted in march. she took her 18-year-old daughter's cue to create an account and post 60-second clips

of her home-cooked vegan recipes. >> but as much as you want, that's your business. if you like a lot of salt, baby, do that, it's okay. >> reporter: 4.5 million followers later, she's the warm, comforting mother we all needed this year. >> she always starts like this. hello, there! you're like, hi, tabatha! >> missed y'all, are y'all all right? >> i'm okay. just -- it's been hard out there, how did you know? >> you need a hug? or some type of potato wedges feel like they're hugging you, at least that's how i feel, let's make some. some people are living alone during this time. some people don't have any light in their life. i thought, maybe i can be the light for one minute a day. it became a responsibility to me. >> i was like, i'm going to be okay. because tabatha brown says so. >> reporter: despite its issues, social media provided us a welcome break from reality. in a year we needed it most.

>> as crazy as social media is, and as dangerous as it can be, it's letting the world see the talent and beauty of certain people who may or may not have been able to have that talent shine in any other way. >> you know, we want to see guys saving puppies from alligators over and over and over again. to let us know that there is good in the world, and it's worth it, and 2021's only going to be better. >> our thanks to eva. we'll be right back with "the final note." der how many times your family touches the surfaces in your home in 24 hours. try microban 24. spray on hard surfaces to kill 99.9% of viruses and bacteria initially, including the virus that causes covid-19. once dry, microban forms a bacteria shield

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♪ finally tonight, we will close out this broadcast by acknowledging and thanking all those who make this show possible. at "nightline," we're family, an inclusive group of journalists who take seriously and never for granted your trust in us. it's been a tough year with tough days ahead. keep doing your best, and so will we. thanks for the company, america. good night, and happy holidays.