Time has released its list of the 100 Most Influential People of 2020 and Dr. Anthony Fauci, who has become a household name due to the coronavirus pandemic, is gracing one of the covers of the magazine. Jimmy Kimmel wrote a piece on Fauci, the nation’s top infectious disease expert, for Time’s Most Influential People issue.
“Dr. Fauci doesn’t sugarcoat his words and refuses to be pressured by politicians,” Kimmel writes. “He delivers the truth, as difficult as it may be to hear, earnestly and with one goal: to save lives. His courage and candor have earned our trust. We are all fortunate to have a man of his wisdom, experience and integrity to help us navigate these difficult waters.”
Time shared eight different worldwide covers on their social media pages. The magazine also broke up their list of 100 people into five categories.
Fauci was part of the “leaders” category, which also features presidential candidate Joe Biden, his running mate Senator Kamala Harris, and President Donald Trump
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is also in the “leaders” category, along with others including Attorney General William Barr, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen, who was written about by Senator Ted Cruz and was honored with a cover.
Also being recognized with a cover are the founders of the Black Lives Matter movement, which gained momentum this year after George Floyd was killed by police on Memorial Day in Minneapolis. Patrisse Cullors, Alicia Garza and Opal Tometi were honored in the “icons” category.
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The women were written about by Sybrina Fulton, the mother of Trayvon Martin, who was killed in Florida in 2012. Fulton said she first heard about the Black Lives Matter movement the year her son died.
“But this year feels different,” she writes. “Since the video came out of the brutal killing of George Floyd, people are actually witnessing what African Americans have been going through most of our lives.”
“Once you see it, you can’t unsee it. Once you feel the pain in your chest, you can’t unfeel that pain,” Fulton continues. “I’m glad to see there are more young people getting involved, more nationalities, more races—the protests are now a rainbow of people from all walks of life, in different countries, joining and saying, ‘Black lives do matter.'”
Also in the “icons” category are actor Billy Porter and Amy O’Sullivan, an 18-year veteran ER nurse in Brooklyn who was honored with a cover. Several athletes, including tennis star Naomi Osaka and soccer star Megan Rapinoe, are also featured in this category.
Megan Thee Stallion appears on a cover and headlines the “pioneers” category. “Once you discover her, you become a fan,” actress Taraji P. Henson writes about the rapper.
Henson says the rapper, whose real name is Megan Jovon Ruth Pete, has been through a lot but she remains the “epitome of tenacity, of pulling herself up by her bootstraps.”
NBA star Giannis Antetokounmpo, astronauts Christina Koch and Jessica Meir, and WNBA star and criminal justice activist Maya Moore are also honored in the “pioneers” category.
In the “artists” category, Time honors singer The Weeknd – also a cover star – as well as singer J Balvin, comedian Ali Wong, actor Michael B. Jordan and director Bong Joon Ho, who made history when his film “Parasite” was the first non-English-language film to win Best Picture in the 92-year history of the Academy Awards.
The final category on Time’s 100 Most Influential People List are the “titans,” featuring Gabrielle Union and Dwyane Wade, who are married and share a cover. Alphabet’s Sundar Pichai, Tyler Perry and Lewis Hamilton are also honored in this category.
Billionaire investor Robert F. Smith is also on the list. Last year, Smith made headlines when he donated millions of dollars to a fund that wipes away student debt for parents whose children attended Morehouse College.
“Robert F. Smith has keenly recognized that the most important way to use wealth and considerable resources is to reinvest in people and their communities, societies and futures,” writes Samuel L. Jackson and Latanya Richardson Jackson. “If we can perpetuate this priority, we just may have a shot at creating a better world for future generations.”