August 2016

N.K. Jemisin won the Hugo Award for Best Novel for The Fifth Season, becoming the first Black author to win the award. She subsequently won the Hugo for each of the next two books in the Broken Earth trilogy, an unprecedented three-year consecutive run, transforming the landscape of science fiction and fantasy publishing.

Simone Biles won four gold medals and one bronze at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics, the most by any female gymnast at a single Olympic Games in over a half century. The International Gymnastics Federation subsequently named a vault, two floor passes, and a beam element after her.

Simone Manuel won the 100-meter freestyle at the Rio Olympics, becoming the first Black woman to win an individual Olympic gold medal in swimming. Her victory challenged longstanding stereotypes about Black athletes and swimming and was widely seen as a breakthrough for the sport's diversity.

Frank Ocean's long-awaited second studio album debuted at number one and was widely acclaimed as one of the decade's defining artistic statements. Its exploration of queerness, race, nostalgia, and loss reached a vast mainstream audience while maintaining an avant-garde sensibility.

Becomes the first Black American woman to win an individual Olympic swimming title.

Biles wins four golds and cements herself as one of the greatest gymnasts ever.