If we set out to discuss all of the major changes that the United States has experienced over the past year, we'd likely be here all day. But while political turmoil and the lingering presence of COVID-19 have turned normally mundane aspects about American life into areas of great concern, 2020 has also seen the nation grapple with issues of racial justice.
And while the May 25 death of George Floyd was a significant catalyst for the protests and national conversations that marked the latter half of the year, many of the aspects of systemic racism that activists continue to speak out took root into American culture decades ago.
This realization has prompted efforts from within the U.S. Military to rename bases that now bear the names of Confederate leaders, and has led Mississippi to remove the infamous Confederate battle flag from the one representing the state.
And now, it has also compelled the North Carolina DMV to draw the line on what can and can't be featured on the state's license plates.