- Kansas State Representative Barbara W. Ballard is elected NBCSL’s eighth president.
- NBCSL President Barbara W. Ballard and Immediate Past President Calvin Smyre attend President Barack Obama’s State of the Union address in Washington, D.C.
- President Barbara W. Ballard meets with President Barack Obama along with eleven other members of the National Policy Alliance to discuss the African American community’s most pressing policy priorities. Chiefly, she underscores NBCSL’s commitment to implementing health reform.
- Lone shooter attempts assassination of Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ) at a supermarket meet-and-greet. He kills six people, including Federal Judge John Roll, and injures thirteen others. Arizona and the nation’s highest officials participate in a televised eulogy. In his remarks, President Barack Obama calls for more civil national discourse.
- The world is captivated by sweeping civil uprisings in the Middle East referred to as “Arab Spring.” Protests, demonstrations, boycotts, and use of social media serve as forms of expression in Syria, Bahrain, Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, Algeria, Iraq, Jordan, Morocco, and Oman and to a lesser extent Kuwait, Lebanon, Mauritania, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, and Western Sahara.
- A 9.1-magnitude earthquake is immediately followed by a Tsunami, which triggers a nuclear explosion, devastating Japan. 15,822 are killed and another 3,926 are reported missing.
- NBCSL and the National Medical Association (NMA) meet for the 12th Annual African American Health Colloquium in Washington, D.C. The meeting, funded by Pfizer Inc, focuses on implementing health reform. President Barbara W. Ballard (KS), President Elect Joe Armstrong (TN), Sen. Catherine Pugh of Maryland (Financial Secretary), and Rep. Ken Dunkin (IL) moderate various panels and Sen. Ruth Hassell- Thompson (NY) serves as a presenter.
- Record-breaking tornadoes ravage the South, claiming 546 lives. Alabama and Missouri suffer the greatest casualties at 241 and 159 respectively; Georgia, Mississippi, Virginia, and Kentucky all report losses as well.
- In her capacity as Co-Chair for the Human Services & Welfare Committee for the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL), President Barbara W. Ballard joins a small delegation of legislators to meet with President Barack Obama.
- An astounding two billion people tune in to watch the televised Royal Wedding ceremony at Westminster Abbey between Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, and commoner Catherine Middleton.
- President Obama announces that 9/11 mastermind and Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden is dead, killed on his orders in Pakistan by a team of six Navy SEALs, none of whom were harmed.
- Concluding a 16-year international manhunt, Ratko Mladic, a Colonel General in the Bosnian Serb Army, is arrested on charges of genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity.
- On the heels of massive European Union bailouts in 2010 for Greece and the Irish Republic, Portugal receives $111 billion to avert financial catastrophe.
- Clara Shepard Luper, affectionately referred to “Mother of the Sit-in Movement,” passes in her home state of Oklahoma at 88 years old.
- NBCSL and National Hispanic Caucus of State Legislators gather for the 6th Annual Promoting Healthy Lifestyles Conference in Miami, Florida. The conference, funded by Novartis Pharmaceuticals, focuses on healthcare implementation.
- Southern Sudan officially secedes as an independent nation, the result of a January referendum and the culmination of 50 years of struggle. The Republic of South Sudan becomes Africa’s 54th country.
- Jupiter-bound Juno, the first solar- powered spacecraft designed to operate despite the great distance from the sun, launches from Cape Canaveral Air Force Base.
- The U.S. narrowly avoids defaulting on its debt before raising the debt ceiling in the eleventh hour. Still, Standard & Poor’s credit rating agency downgrades the U.S. from its perfect AAA rating to AA+, citing among other issues, excessive political brinksmanship from Congress.
- Repeal of “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” policy prohibiting gays and lesbians from serving openly in the military takes effect.
- NBCSL legislators gather in Indianapolis, Indiana for the 18th Annual Black America’s Dialogue on Health Conference, funded by Eli Lilly & Company. The symposium, Disease Prevention through Transformative Living, centers on how physical, mental, and spiritual health intersect.
- Attracting tens of thousands of visitors from across the globe, the 30-foot, $120 million Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial is unveiled on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. is the only non- war hero, non-President, and person of color to hold that distinction.
- A 5.2-magnitude Virginia-centered earthquake and Hurricane Irene rock the Eastern Seaboard in the same week. Hurricane Irene leaves 44 dead, millions without electricity, and billions of dollars in damage.
- President Barbara W. Ballard participates in a fact-finding mission to France organized by NCSL and the Nuclear Energy Institute.
- Reverend Fred Shuttlesworth, civil rights champion and co-founder of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, dies at the age of 89 in Birmingham, Alabama.
- Yemeni pro-democracy and human rights activist, Tawakkul Karman, becomes the first Arab woman to win the Nobel Peace Prize.
- Colonel Muammar Gaddafi, 41-year ruler of the Libyan Arab Republic, is killed following a civil uprising aided by NATO intervention and U.S. assistance.
- The Congressional Budget Office releases a study based on IRS and Census Bureau data showing the after-tax income for the top 1% of U.S. households grew 275% from 1979 to 2007, while middle earners’ grew by 40% and the poorest households increased by 18%. This study is released amidst expanding protests across the U.S., called Occupy Wall Street, which decry income inequality.
- October 31st marks the Day of Seven Billion, officially designated by the United Nations Population Fund to commemorate the approximate day when the world’s population is estimated to reach seven billion people.
- NFL Lockout is narrowly avoided; but after months of negotiations the NBA lockout continues. Immediately before going to print on this magazine, a start date for the NBA 2011 season remains undetermined.
- NBCSL hosts its 35th Annual Legislative Conference in Chicago, Illinois.
