2021

Dr. Kizzmekia Corbett, a Black immunologist at the NIH's Vaccine Research Center, was a lead scientist in developing the mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccine used by Moderna and contributed critical research that informed the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine. Her work, conducted before many people had heard of mRNA vaccines, helped protect hundreds of millions of lives worldwide.

Raphael Warnock became the first Black senator from Georgia and the first Black Democrat elected senator from the South, while Jon Ossoff became the first Jewish senator from Georgia. Their dual victories flipped the Senate to Democratic control and represented a historic shift in Southern politics.

Former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin was convicted on all three counts — second-degree murder, third-degree murder, and second-degree manslaughter — in the killing of George Floyd. The conviction, seen as rare accountability for police violence against Black Americans, was met with relief and cautious hope by civil rights advocates across the country.

Forbes declared Rihanna a billionaire, with her Fenty Beauty cosmetics line — launched in 2017 with 40 foundation shades emphasizing inclusivity — valued at over $2.8 billion. She became the wealthiest female musician in the world and one of the wealthiest Black women in history.

NASA astronaut Jessica Watkins was assigned to the Crew-4 mission to the International Space Station, making her the first Black woman to serve on a long-duration ISS crew. She launched in April 2022 and spent six months aboard the station.

Retired Army General Lloyd Austin was confirmed by the Senate as the 28th U.S. Secretary of Defense, becoming the first Black American to hold the position. A former Commander of U.S. Central Command, Austin's confirmation represented a historic milestone in civilian military leadership.

The film about Fred Hampton and the FBI's counterintelligence program premiered, featuring Daniel Kaluuya as Hampton and Lakeith Stanfield as informant William O'Neal. Kaluuya won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor and used the stage to celebrate Hampton's legacy.

Barry Jenkins' adaptation of Colson Whitehead's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel premiered on Amazon Prime as a limited series. The visually stunning miniseries won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Limited Series and brought national attention to the novel's surrealist retelling of slavery and escape.

Haitian-Japanese tennis star Naomi Osaka withdrew from the French Open and later the Wimbledon tournament, publicly disclosing her struggles with depression and anxiety. Her decision sparked a global conversation about athlete mental health, particularly the pressures faced by Black women athletes.

Poet and journalist Clint Smith published 'How the Word Is Passed,' a meditation on slavery's legacy through visits to sites across America and beyond. The book became a New York Times bestseller and won the National Book Critics Circle Award for nonfiction, hailed as essential American reading.

FX's 'Pose,' the drama set in New York's LGBTQ+ ballroom culture of the 1980s and 90s created by Ryan Murphy, Janet Mock, and Steven Canals, aired its series finale. The show featured the largest cast of transgender actors in a scripted television series and won numerous awards for centering Black and Latino trans lives.

Giannis Antetokounmpo delivered a 50-point performance in Game 6 of the NBA Finals to lead the Milwaukee Bucks to their first championship since 1971, winning Finals MVP. His performance, including a crucial block late in the game, was immediately considered one of the great Finals performances in history.

At the Tokyo Olympics, Simone Biles withdrew from the team final and several individual events, citing mental health and a case of the 'twisties.' Her decision sparked a global conversation about athlete mental health and the pressures placed on Black women in sports. She returned to win a bronze on balance beam.

Quinta Brunson premiered 'Abbott Elementary' on ABC, a workplace comedy set in a Philadelphia public school. Brunson became the youngest Black woman to create and star in a network sitcom, and the show became ABC's highest-rated comedy in years, winning multiple Emmy Awards.

Stephen Curry broke Ray Allen's all-time NBA record for three-pointers made, surpassing 2,974 career threes in a game against the New York Knicks. The milestone cemented Curry's legacy as the greatest shooter in basketball history and transformed how the game is played at all levels.

After a six-year hiatus, Jazmine Sullivan released 'Heaux Tales,' a critically acclaimed EP centering Black women's sexuality, desire, and worth. The project earned Grammy nominations and was lauded as one of the defining R&B works of the era, marking Sullivan's triumphant return.

Bruno Mars and Anderson .Paak released their debut single as Silk Sonic, 'Leave the Door Open,' which became a number-one hit and won Grammy Awards for Record of the Year and Song of the Year in 2022. The project was a celebrated homage to classic R&B and soul traditions.

H.E.R. (Gabriella Wilson) won the Grammy Award for Song of the Year for 'I Can't Breathe,' written in response to the police killings of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor. The win was a rare example of an explicitly political protest song claiming the music industry's top songwriting honor.

Tyler the Creator released 'Call Me If You Get Lost,' a maximalist rap album that debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 and won Grammy Award for Best Rap Album in 2022. The album, featuring DJ Drama as hype man, was widely praised as one of the decade's great hip-hop records.

Doja Cat released 'Planet Her,' which debuted at number two on the Billboard 200 and featured multiple hit singles. The album confirmed her status as a crossover pop and rap superstar, earning Grammy nominations and critical praise for its genre-blending ambition.

'Blinding Lights' spent a record 90 weeks on the Billboard Hot 100, breaking a record that had stood since the chart's founding. The Weeknd's achievement demonstrated the global reach of Black Canadian artists and cemented his place among the most commercially successful musicians of the streaming era.

Colson Whitehead, the only author to win back-to-back Pulitzer Prizes for fiction, published 'Harlem Shuffle,' a genre-blending heist novel set in 1960s Harlem. The book debuted at number one on the New York Times bestseller list and was praised for its narrative craft and historical texture.

Eric Adams, a Brooklyn Borough President and retired NYPD captain, was elected Mayor of New York City, becoming only the second Black mayor in the city's history. A vegan and fitness advocate, Adams ran on a platform of public safety and economic recovery.

Jeymes Samuel's 'The Harder They Fall,' starring Idris Elba, Regina King, Jonathan Majors, and Zazie Beetz, premiered on Netflix. The stylized Western centered entirely on Black historical figures from the American West and was celebrated as a reclamation of the genre.

Summer Walker's second studio album 'Still Over It' broke the first-week streaming record for an R&B female artist upon release, topping the Billboard 200 and confirming Walker as one of the most commercially successful R&B artists of her generation.

HBO's 'Insecure,' created by and starring Issa Rae, concluded after five acclaimed seasons. The show was groundbreaking for centering the interior lives of Black women in Los Angeles and helped launch or amplify the careers of numerous Black writers, directors, and actors.

Jay-Z's Roc Nation entertainment company continued its broad partnership with the NFL covering music and social justice initiatives, while Jay-Z expanded his portfolio to include a stake in the Denver Broncos' ownership group in 2022, becoming one of the few Black part-owners of an NFL franchise.

South London rapper Dave won the Mercury Prize for his second album 'We're All Alone in This Together,' which debuted at number one in the UK. Known for his literary lyricism and political consciousness, Dave continued to be recognized as one of the UK's most important Black artists.

Oleksandr Usyk defeated Anthony Joshua by unanimous decision to claim the WBA, IBF, and WBO heavyweight titles at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. The upset loss sent Joshua back to the drawing board and reshuffled the heavyweight landscape, with a rematch following in 2022.

Rebecca Hall's directorial debut 'Passing,' starring Tessa Thompson and Ruth Negga, adapted Nella Larsen's 1929 novel about racial passing and identity. Shot in black and white, the film premiered at Sundance, received Netflix distribution, and earned two Academy Award nominations.

Deontay Wilder suffered a dramatic eleventh-round stoppage loss to Tyson Fury in their trilogy fight at T-Mobile Arena. After being knocked down twice, Wilder was stopped for only the second time in his career, ending his dream of reclaiming the heavyweight title and effectively closing a chapter in his career.

Harris becomes the first Black and first woman US Vice President.

The young poet's "The Hill We Climb" captivates a national audience.