2000

Robert F. Smith founded Vista Equity Partners, a private equity firm focused on enterprise software companies, which would grow to manage over $50 billion in assets. Smith became the wealthiest Black American in U.S. history, demonstrating that Black entrepreneurs could compete and excel at the very highest levels of global finance.

Robert F. Smith founded Vista Equity Partners in 2000, building it into a private equity firm managing over $100 billion in assets. Smith became the wealthiest Black American in history with a net worth exceeding $8 billion, and in 2019 pledged $34 million to pay off the entire student debt of Morehouse College's graduating class, the largest gift in the HBCU's history.

Toronto Raptors guard Vince Carter delivered what many consider the greatest slam dunk contest performance in NBA history at the 2000 All-Star Weekend in Oakland, earning a perfect score and a lasting legacy as Air Canada.

Tiger Woods won the 2000 US Open at Pebble Beach by 15 strokes, the largest margin of victory in major championship history, part of a historic run in which he held all four major titles simultaneously.

The Los Angeles Lakers defeated the Indiana Pacers to win the NBA championship, beginning a dynasty led by Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal that would win three consecutive titles from 2000 to 2002.

St. Louis rapper Nelly released his debut album Country Grammar, which sold over 8 million copies in the US and debuted at number one, establishing the Midwest as a major force in hip-hop.

Venus Williams defeated Lindsay Davenport to win her first Wimbledon championship, becoming the first Black woman to win Wimbledon since Althea Gibson in 1958. Venus and her sister Serena would go on to dominate women's tennis for two decades, transforming the sport and inspiring a generation of Black athletes.

Venus Williams won her first Wimbledon Championship in 2000, defeating Lindsay Davenport in the final, and also won gold at the Sydney Olympics that year. Her victory at Wimbledon — one of tennis's most storied tournaments — marked a watershed moment for Black representation at the highest levels of the sport.

Tiger Woods won the 2000 Open Championship at St Andrews, completing the career Grand Slam at age 24 and becoming the youngest golfer to do so, having also won the US Open and PGA Championship that same year.

Throughout the early 2000s Floyd Mayweather Jr. compiled an undefeated professional record while winning world titles in multiple weight classes, establishing himself as one of the most technically skilled boxers in history and a transcendent pay-per-view attraction.

Swoopes became the first WNBA player to have a Nike signature shoe (Air Swoopes, 1995) and won multiple WNBA championships with Houston, making her the definitive face of women's basketball in the 1990s.

Chicago rapper Common released Like Water for Chocolate, produced largely by J Dilla and Questlove, a critically celebrated album that deepened the artistic ambitions of conscious hip-hop.

Dallas neo-soul artist Erykah Badu released her second studio album Mama's Gun, featuring the acclaimed single Bag Lady and cementing her status as a defining voice in the neo-soul movement.

New York author Colson Whitehead published The Intuitionist, a critically acclaimed debut novel blending noir and allegory about race and progress in America. It established him as one of the most original voices in contemporary American literature.