Welcome to the end of a decade, the 2010s. If you feel like this past decade flew by, you’re not alone. If you also feel like it was one cluster-fume of a decade, you’re not alone either.

This past decade has brought us so, so, so, just so much!

Although we don’t have enough time and space to cover all the important cultural moments in the past 10 years, here are a few stand out ones. Let us know in the comments below which iconic moments we missed.

 

2010 The Old Spice Stud

Yup, it was an interesting beginning to the decade. We had a black president and The Old Spice Guy came into our lives. The commercial below was probably one of the most memorable commercials of the decade. He was on a horse!

2010 LeBron’s Decision

 

With one decision, LeBron James became the most hated man in Cleveland. The decision the baller made was to leave his hometown team to play for Miami Heat. Years later, LeBron returned to Cleveland and won his city a championship.

 

2011 The Oprah Winfrey Show says goodbye

 

After 25 years, The Oprah Winfrey Show said goodbye in 2011. Oprah, however, did not leave television. In fact, she created her own network, OWN.

2012 Whitney Houston Dies

 

In February of 2012, our beloved Whitney Houston left us way too early.

2012 Obama is re-elected

 

President Barack Obama won his second term on November 6th of 2012.

2013 BLM is born

 

Police brutality is nothing new to this decade, but new worriers were born when Black Lives Matter sprung up in 2013 thanks to Alicia Garza, Patrisse Cullors and Opal Tometi.

2013 Beyonce’s Surprise Album

 

Where were you when you found out Beyonce dropped a surprise album in 2013? The self-titled visual album came completely unannounced and set the world of music on fire. No need for months and months of promotion for the Queen Bey.

2014 Ray Rice & domestic violence in the NFL

 

After a video surfaced of Baltimore Raven running back Ray Rice assaulting his then fiancee in an elevator, the NFL found itself in hot water for having a history of being lenient on players when it came to domestic violence. Rice was suspended for two days initially and then indefinitely, until he challenged the suspension and was reinstated.

2014 Solange and Jay Z’s elevator fight

You probably watched the video several times when it went viral. Could that have been the fight of the decade?

2015 #OscarsSoWhite Trends

 

In 2015, no actors of color were nominated in any categories. That triggered #OscarsSoWhite on social media, forcing the Academy and other media to examine the ongoing lack of diversity.

2015 ‘Hotline Bling’

Drake is infamous for his GIF-able works of art. And this colorful music video was probably his most GIFed work yet.

2015 The Rachel Dolezal saga

 

Rachel Dolezal caused a huge stir when it was discovered that she was born white but was heading a chapter of NAACP because she identifies as a black person.

2016 Kaepernick (and countless others) #TakeAKnee

 

Undoubtedly, taking a knee was one of the most controversial social movements of this passing decade. Former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick refused to stand up for the national anthem in protest of police brutality. His action led him to be blacklisted from the NFL but become a cultural icon.

2017 Moonlight Takes the Oscar

 

Barry Jenkin’s Moonlight’s coming-of-age drama is one of the best movies of the decade. It became the first film with an all-black cast to win Best Picture at the Academy Awards. Although the moment was a bit bitter because the host announced the wrong movie as the winner of Best Picture, the issue was corrected to give the night a sweet ending.

 

2017 Tarana Burke’s #MeToo Movement

 

Tarana Burke had been saying me too for a long time, but it wasn’t until 2017 that the movement finally caught fire and ravaged through the entertainment industry and beyond.

2017 Get Out

 

It hit us like a brick. One day, out of nowhere, what everybody was talking about was the movie Get Out, a social thriller from Jordan Peele. Jordan had A LOT to say about the contemporary black American experience, and he said it well.

 

2017 Bodak Yellow & the arrival of Cardi B

 

Everybody’s favorite cousin made it big time when her song “Bodak Yellow” tore up the streets. And if you thought Cardi B would be a one hit wonder, you were mistaken.

2018 Black Panther

 

It was a movie event like no other. The global phenomenon that is Black Panther got released in 2018 and became the biggest solo superhero launch of all time!

2018 Beychella

 

Beyonce became the first black woman to headline Coachella and arguably the greatest headliner of the all. The show that Bey put on, that later was turned into a Netflix documentary, was UN-believable.

2018 Aretha Franklin Dies

 

The Queen of Soul passed away at the age of 76 in Detroit.

2018 America’s dad goes on trial

 

In 2018, Bill Cosby was found guilty on three counts of felony aggravated indecent assault stemming from a 2004 case. More than 50 women came forward with allegations of misconduct against the actor and comedian.

 

2018 Bishop Michael Curry’s Royal Wedding Sermon

 

The royals have never seen a sermon like the one Bishop Michael Curry delivered when Meghan Markle and Price Harry tied the knot in front of the whole world. The Bishop spoke of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr’s messages of compassion and love and the Kingdom gospel choir sang ‘Stand By Me.’

2018 Kanye West gets cancelled (kinda)

 

Nobody is new to hearing bizarre rants from Kanye West, but what took place in 2018 was something extra. From declaring his love for Trump and wearing the iconic red hats to saying slavery was an option, Kanye got himself cancelled. But only kinda cancelled because he is still Kanye West.

2019 Old Town Road

 

Love it or hate it, Lil Nas X’s ‘Old Town Road’ made history as the longest running number one song on the Billboard charts. Although it briefly charted on country music charts and was removed for not being “country enough”, “Old Town Road” made an impact on the blending of two seemingly very different genre: hip-hop and country music.

2019 Lizzo Fever Hits

 

Lizzo has been making music for a while before 2019, but in 2019, Lizzo fever hit new heights! All of a sudden, she was everywhere! Her single “Truth Hurts” climbed to #1 although it was released in 2017.

Let’s see what 2020 brings us!