January 2005

Laila Ali, daughter of Muhammad Ali, compiled a record of 24-0 with 21 knockouts throughout the 2000s, winning multiple super middleweight and light heavyweight championship titles and becoming the most famous female boxer of her era.

Craig Brewer's Hustle and Flow, starring Terrence Howard as a Memphis pimp pursuing a hip-hop career, won the Audience Award at the Sundance Film Festival and sparked national conversation about Black masculinity, Southern culture, and the rap dream.

Craig Brewer's Hustle and Flow, starring Terrence Howard as a Memphis pimp pursuing a hip-hop career, won the Audience Award at the Sundance Film Festival and sparked national conversation about Black masculinity and Southern culture.

Serena Williams defeated Lindsay Davenport to win the 2005 Australian Open, her seventh Grand Slam singles title, continuing her dominance of women's tennis despite battling injuries throughout her career.

Shirley Ann Jackson, the first African American woman to earn a PhD from MIT and former chairman of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, continued her tenure as president of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, where she led a $1 billion research initiative as one of the most influential Black women in American science and academia.

Shirley Ann Jackson, the first African American woman to earn a PhD from MIT and former chairman of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, led a $1 billion research initiative as president of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, one of the most influential Black women in American science and academia.

Rice becomes the second Black Secretary of State and the first Black woman in the role.