2020

Black virologist Dr. Kizzmekia Corbett of the NIH Vaccine Research Center was the scientific lead on the team that developed the Moderna mRNA COVID-19 vaccine, one of the most consequential scientific achievements of the 21st century and a cornerstone of the global pandemic response.

Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin killed George Floyd by kneeling on his neck for over nine minutes. The murder, captured on video, sparked the largest protest movement in American history, with demonstrations in all 50 states and dozens of countries, reigniting global conversations about anti-Black police violence.

The murder of George Floyd by Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin on May 25, 2020 triggered protests in all 50 states and more than 60 countries, with estimates of 15 to 26 million participants making it potentially the largest movement in American history. The uprising accelerated corporate diversity commitments, toppled Confederate monuments, and drove lasting conversations about policing, race, and justice.

Louisville police officers shot and killed emergency medical technician Breonna Taylor in her apartment during a botched no-knock raid. Her killing became a focal point of the 2020 Black Lives Matter protests, and her name became a rallying cry for justice and accountability for police violence against Black women.

Colson Whitehead became only the fourth author in history to win two Pulitzer Prizes for Fiction, receiving the award for 'The Nickel Boys,' a novel based on the Dozier School for Boys abuse scandal. He had previously won in 2017 for 'The Underground Railroad,' making him one of the most decorated living American novelists.

Stacey Abrams' decade of voter registration work through her organization Fair Fight Action was widely credited with registering hundreds of thousands of new voters in Georgia, helping flip the state for Joe Biden in the 2020 presidential election — the first time Georgia voted Democratic for president since 1992. Her organizing model became a national template for grassroots democracy efforts.

Stacey Abrams' voter registration and mobilization organization Fair Fight Action was widely credited with registering hundreds of thousands of new voters in Georgia, flipping the state blue in the presidential election for the first time since 1992 and setting the stage for two Democratic Senate wins.

Whitehead became only the fourth novelist ever to win two Pulitzer Prizes for Fiction, joining Booth Tarkington, William Faulkner, and John Updike. The Nickel Boys, based on the real Dozier School for Boys in Florida, was praised as one of the most important novels about American carceral violence.

Following the George Floyd protests, Ibram X. Kendi's 'How to Be an Antiracist' (2019) returned to the top of bestseller lists, selling hundreds of thousands of copies and reshaping the national conversation on race, racism, and reform. Kendi became one of the most influential public intellectuals in America.

WNBA players, the majority of whom are Black women, organized one of the most coordinated athlete social justice efforts in American sports, dedicating the 2020 season to Breonna Taylor and wearing her name on jerseys throughout the bubble season. Their activism elevated the public profile of the league and set a template for athlete-led advocacy.

Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Isabel Wilkerson published 'Caste,' a landmark work arguing that a hidden caste system underpins racial inequality in America, drawing comparisons to India and Nazi Germany. The book became an instant #1 New York Times bestseller and shifted intellectual discourse on race.

Cardi B's 'WAP' featuring Megan Thee Stallion debuted at number one on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming the first female rap collaboration to debut at the top position and breaking first-day streaming records. The song became a cultural flashpoint and feminist anthem.

Chadwick Boseman, star of 'Black Panther' and multiple other films including '42' and 'Get On Up,' died at age 43 after a private battle with colon cancer, having continued working through treatment. His death prompted an outpouring of tributes that underscored how profoundly his roles — particularly as T'Challa — had affected Black audiences globally.

Tyler Perry officially opened his 330-acre Tyler Perry Studios on the grounds of the former Fort McPherson military base in Atlanta, making him one of the few Black owners of a major film studio. The campus featured 12 soundstages and represented a landmark in Black ownership of entertainment infrastructure.

NASA astronaut Victor Glover launched to the International Space Station aboard SpaceX Crew Dragon as part of Crew-1, spending nearly six months in space — the longest duration of any Black astronaut at that time. He was also the first Black astronaut to live aboard the ISS on a long-duration mission.

NASA astronaut Victor Glover launched to the International Space Station on the first operational SpaceX Crew Dragon mission (Crew-1), spending 168 days in space — the first long-duration ISS mission by a Black astronaut. He performed multiple spacewalks and later was named to the Artemis II crew for a lunar flyby.

Netflix released 'Ma Rainey's Black Bottom,' adapted from August Wilson's play, featuring Viola Davis as the Mother of the Blues and Chadwick Boseman in his final film role before his death from colon cancer. Boseman received a posthumous Academy Award nomination for Best Actor.

Billionaire Robert F. Smith fulfilled his surprise pledge to pay off the student loan debt of the entire Morehouse College graduating class of 2019, totaling approximately $34 million. The gesture was the largest single gift to an HBCU class and sparked national debate about student debt and Black philanthropy.

Kasi Lemmons's biographical film about Harriet Tubman starred Cynthia Erivo, who received Academy Award nominations for both Best Actress and Best Original Song. Erivo became one of the youngest EGOT candidates in history as a result. The film was the first major Hollywood production centered on Tubman's life.

Lizzo won three Grammy Awards at the 2020 ceremony for Truth Hurts and Cuz I Love You, becoming the most-nominated artist at that year's ceremony. As a classically trained flutist who built her career independently, Lizzo represented a new visibility for plus-size Black women in mainstream pop and body-positive self-expression.

Igor debuted at number one and won the Grammy for Best Rap Album despite defying traditional rap categorization, blending synth-pop, R&B, and soul. Tyler's victory signaled the genre's expanding boundaries and his emergence as one of the most inventive composers in contemporary Black music.

Megan Thee Stallion's 'Savage' remix featuring Beyoncé reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100, marking Megan's first chart-topper and raising awareness for Bread of Life Houston food bank amid the pandemic. The song solidified Megan as a defining voice in rap.

HBO's 'Lovecraft Country,' produced by Jordan Peele and J.J. Abrams and starring Jonathan Majors and Jurnee Smollett, premiered to significant critical acclaim. The genre series, blending Jim Crow horror with supernatural fiction, became a cultural conversation about the terror of American racism.

Cori Bush of Missouri and Jamaal Bowman of New York were elected to the U.S. House of Representatives as progressive challengers, joining the Squad. Bush, a Black Lives Matter activist and nurse, became the first Black woman elected to Congress from Missouri.

Regina King's directorial debut 'One Night in Miami,' imagining a meeting between Cassius Clay, Malcolm X, Sam Cooke, and Jim Brown after Clay's 1964 heavyweight championship win, was released on Amazon Prime. King became one of the few Black women to direct a major awards-contending film.