Editor’s note: The following article is an op-ed, and the views expressed are the author’s own. Read more opinions on theGrio.
As 2025 comes to a close, it’s time to reflect on who, what, when, where, and how Blackness showed up and showed up big. And boy did it—from the biggest stages to demonstrating the power of Black creativity on social media, 2025 was one of them ones where neither hateration nor holleration (in this or that dancery) was welcome. Below, we gathered a list of 9 of the most iconic moments (in some cases “moment” is more figurative) that shaped how we’ll forever remember 2025.
Kendrick Lamar’s halftime show
In the tail end, more or less, of what has to be among one of the greatest calendar years any artist has ever had in music history, Kendrick Lamar’s record-breaking halftime show in February 2025 was a clinic in Blackness. From Samuel L. Jackson as “Uncle Sam,” to the will-he-or-won’t-he perform his mega hit “Not Like Us,” a referendum on colonizers and appropriators aimed at a particular Canadian, Serena Williams C-walking, and the political messaging of the colors, formations, etc., Lamar’s halftime show was one of the Blackest moments of 2025…and unsurprisingly, Lamar wasn’t done. Not only was it super Black on America’s biggest stage, it was also highly entertaining. Say Drake!
Tahj Williams creates logo and theme art for Super Bowl LIX
While Kendrick Lamar’s halftime show was what most folks talked about regarding the Super Bowl, the story behind the story was that Tahj Williams, a creative artist in New Orleans, was the first person to ever craft the logo and theme art for the Super Bowl, which took place in her hometown of New Orleans. Through the use of handsewn beadwork, “Queen Tahj” paid homage to the New Orleans masking culture she grew up in and brought all the Blackness from, arguably, the Blackest city in America, and put on for her city on, again, America’s biggest stage.
2025 Met Gala: “Superfine: Tailoring Black Style”
Celebrating the fashion and impact of “dandyism,” a word most of us said more in 2025 than in the entirety of our lives because of the Met Gala, the theme put Black elegance and style on display. To boot, all of the co-chairs of the Met Gala were Black men for the first time ever. And in case you forgot, André 3000 showed up wearing a piano. I’m not sure if things can get much Blacker than that, but everybody who pulled up did so with one thing on their agenda: Show all who might see just how fly Black folks are and can be.
In case you missed that sentence in there, André 3000 wore a piano.
Beyonce’s “Cowboy Carter” tour and “Album of the Year” Grammy win
In March of 2024, Beyoncé released “Cowboy Carter,” an album that placed Black America at the center of country, folk, and Americana music. While the album was met with some resistance from many Black folks (we claim we don’t really like country), 2025 demonstrated just how impactful the album was. For starters, Queen Bey finally won her coveted “Album of the Year” award at the Grammys, along with several other awards for the greatness that was her super Black country jam session, but the “Cowbooy Carter” tour was different. The sheer amount of Black history and storytelling on display at the show was admirable. Between the imagery, clips, and interviews interspersed throughout the show, you definitely walked away, whether you wanted to or not, knowing that Black people will not and cannot be written out of any aspect of American culture, which was necessary as folks in country music tried to come for her all year long, much to their own peril.
Black social media users react to Louisiana’s Nottoway Plantation going up in flames
One of Louisiana’s plantations, Nottoway Plantation, now (well then) called Nottoway Resort, caught fire in May 2025, and well, the Internet did its thing. It would be too difficult to chronicle the reactions to the flames that took out what was the South’s largest antebellum plantation home—turned into a “resort” and “venue,” but this quote from a user on social media kind of sums it all up: “If you turn a plantation into a resort… I feel like whatever happens to you inside that building is the lord’s will.”
Amen.
And speaking of social media.
HillmanTok takes Black education from the classroom to the Internet
In a show of Black ingenuity and innovation, in early 2025, HillmanTok erupted with legions of Black educators taking their classes and putting them online for free for folks to take advantage of information and lectures being presented in the name of education. Professors and experts shared videos, syllabi, lectures, etc. all in the name of expanding horizons and making education available to those who were interested. Now, like many things that started organically and got too big too quickly, HillmanTok also devolved into controversy over the name, events, and basically anything and everything that could involve money and ownership. HillmanTok was a vanta Black moment in 2025 that also managed to become, simply, Black History.
Audra McDonald becomes the most-nominated actor in Tony Awards history
Veteran actor Audra McDonald was nominated this year for another Tony Award, bringing her nominations to 11 and making her the most nominated person in Tony Awards history, a mark for Blackness and excellence that is well deserved by McDonald. While people tend to center wins over nominations, let’s not forget she’s also the most awarded actor in Tony Awards history as well.
“Sinners”
I don’t even know how else to denote the behemoth that was “Sinners.” First off, it’s a beautifully shot film with all of the Black history and storytelling you could want. It’s also a good movie, with a beautiful cast of folks helmed by Ryan Coogler and led by Michael B. Jordan and introducing Miles Caton to a wide audience. Look, there will be no mention of 2025 in film without “Sinners” being a central part of the conversation. A uniquely Black film, shot in the south, centering the Mississippi Delta, involving vampires, etc. “Sinners” was and is just another example of the power of a good story. There are so many different ways you can discuss, dissect, talk about, and enjoy “Sinners,” but what’s most important is that it exists, is rewatchable, and there is no discussion about moments of 2025 without the staying power and resonance of Ryan Coogler’s “Sinners.”
Gayle King goes to space
Hear me out. There ain’t nothing Blacker than having a tremendous amount of money and blowing it on a random experience like…Gayle King going to space for 10-15 minutes. The first time I saw real money, I spent the entire day using EZ-Pass express lanes; there wasn’t even any traffic. To me, that is my broke equivalent of Gayle King going to space. And that, my friends, is very Black. And I totes would do this if I had more money.
Panama Jackson is a columnist at theGrio and host of the award-winning podcast, “Dear Culture” on theGrio Black Podcast Network. He writes very Black things, drinks very brown liquors, and is pretty fly for a light guy. His biggest accomplishment to date coincides with his Blackest accomplishment to date in that he received a phone call from Oprah Winfrey after she read one of his pieces (biggest) but he didn’t answer the phone because the caller ID said “Unknown” (Blackest).
