2025 marks several significant milestone anniversaries across history, commemorating events and moments that shaped the world, made headlines, and continue to influence society today. Some of these moments transformed global conversations, others brought collective sorrow, and many helped define cultural and social movements that still resonate.
The year also marks anniversaries of major innovations that produced lasting, widespread impact. Notable examples include the launch of BET Networks in 1980, YouTube in 2005, and the founding of Microsoft in 1975, all which reshaped media, technology, and access to opportunity for generations.
Cultural milestones have played an equally pivotal role. One defining moment came in 1995, when OutKast accepted the Best New Artist award at the 1995 Source Awards and André 3000 declared, “The South got something to say.” At a time of heightened tension between East Coast and West Coast hip-hop, the statement helped shift the cultural landscape and usher in the rise of Southern hip-hop. That moment paved the way for the Atlanta music scene and artists such as Goodie Mob, Lil Baby, Ludacris, Lil Jon, Migos, Young Thug, and influenced regional movements in Memphis, New Orleans, Houston, and Miami.
The impact of Southern artistry extended beyond hip-hop, helping elevate a generation of influential artists including Beyoncé, Missy Elliott, Usher, Pharrell Williams, Chris Brown, Ciara, J. Cole, and DaBaby, among others, who went on to shape music and popular culture worldwide.
Television and film have also reached milestone anniversaries in 2025. Cultural touchstones such as Saturday Night Live, which premiered in 1975, and In Living Color, which debuted in 1990, remain influential for their role in comedy, representation, and entertainment.
This year also marks key moments in the fight against social injustice that helped galvanize change, including the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, Bloody Sunday in 1965, the death of Emmett Till in 1955, the killing of George Floyd in 2020, and the end of slavery through the Emancipation Proclamation in 1865, among others.
Explore these milestone anniversaries across history, news, entertainment, and culture, and reflect on the moments that helped shape the world we live in today.
Civil Rights History
March 30, 1870
The 15th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution is ratified, guaranteeing African American men the right to vote.
June 19, 1865
Union soldiers arrive in Galveston, Texas, announcing freedom for the remaining enslaved people—an event later commemorated as Juneteenth.
August 28, 1955
Emmett Till, a 14-year-old African American boy, is brutally murdered in Money, Mississippi, galvanizing the modern civil rights movement.
December 1, 1955
Rosa Parks refuses to give up her seat on a bus in Montgomery, Alabama, sparking the Montgomery Bus Boycott.
L–R: Bloody Sunday, 1965, when protesters marching from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama, for voting rights were met with violent attacks by law enforcement; the Greensboro Four—four North Carolina A&T State University freshmen who launched the sit-in movement at Greensboro’s Woolworth lunch counter; and Mamie Till grieving over the open casket of her son, Emmett Till; Photo Credit: Getty Images
February 1, 1960
The Greensboro sit-ins begin when four freshmen from North Carolina A&T State University sit at a whites-only lunch counter at a Woolworth’s in Greensboro, North Carolina.
March 7, 1965
Civil rights marchers traveling from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama, are met with violent attacks by law enforcement on the Edmund Pettus Bridge—a day that becomes known as Bloody Sunday.
August 6, 1965
The Voting Rights Act of 1965 is signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson. The legislation outlawed discriminatory voting practices such as literacy tests and poll taxes, provided federal oversight of elections in states with a history of voter suppression, and marked one of the most significant expansions of voting rights in U.S. history.
November 14, 1960
Ruby Bridges becomes the first African American student to attend an all-white elementary school in New Orleans, Louisiana.
Tragedy
February 21, 1965
Malcolm X is assassinated at the Audubon Ballroom in Harlem, New York City.
June 17, 2015
The Charleston church shooting occurs at Emanuel AME Church in South Carolina, where nine African American worshippers are killed during Bible study.
L–R: A prayer vigil at Metropolitan AME Church in Washington, D.C., honoring the nine victims of the mass shooting at Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, South Carolina; NBA legend Kobe Bryant, who was tragically killed in a helicopter crash in 2020; and Cup Foods—now a memorial site—where unarmed Black man George Floyd was killed by former police officer Derek Chauvin. Photo Credit: Getty Images
January 26, 2020
Kobe Bryant, his daughter Gianna “Gigi” Bryant, and seven others are killed in a helicopter crash in Calabasas, California.
May 25, 2020
The killing of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer sparks global protests against police brutality and racial injustice.
Entertainment & Culture
January 7, 1955
Marian Anderson becomes the first African American to perform at the Metropolitan Opera.
July 17, 1955
Disneyland officially opens in Anaheim, California.
Disneyland, 1975 officially opens its doors in Anaheim, California; Courtesy of Hip Postcard
October 11, 1975
Saturday Night Live premieres its first episode.
January 25, 1980
Black Entertainment Television (BET) launches, becoming the first television network dedicated to African American audiences. BET played a critical role in amplifying Black voices, culture, music, and news, and helped shape generations of artists, journalists, and media professionals.
August 3, 1995
Tensions rise at the 1995 Source Awards, setting the stage for one of the most divisive rivalries in hip-hop history.
September 11, 2000
106 & Park airs its first episode on BET, becoming a defining platform for hip-hop and youth culture.
Also explore these television shows and films that reached milestone anniversaries.
News
April 14, 1935
The “Black Sunday” dust storm sweeps across the Great Plains—one of the worst events of the Dust Bowl era—displacing over 300,000 tons of topsoil and turning day into darkness.
March 19, 1935
The Harlem Riot of 1935 erupts in New York City after false rumors spread that a young Puerto Rican boy had been killed by police.
May 4, 1970
Tragedy strikes at Kent State University in Ohio when the Ohio National Guard opens fire on students protesting the U.S. invasion of Cambodia during the Vietnam War.
March 14, 1950
The FBI establishes its “Ten Most Wanted” list.
August 29, 2005
Hurricane Katrina makes landfall, flooding over 80% of New Orleans and causing widespread devastation and loss of life.
March 11, 2020
The World Health Organization officially declares COVID-19 a global pandemic
Technology
February 14, 2005
YouTube is founded; its first video is uploaded in April 2005.
April 4, 1975
Microsoft is founded by childhood friends Bill Gates and Paul Allen in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
The milestone anniversaries of 2025 offer a moment for reflection, remembrance, and nostalgia, spotlighting pivotal events across civil rights history, exposure of racial injustice, cultural breakthroughs, technological innovation, and the lasting influence of film and television.
Some of the most significant moments being commemorated includes Bloody Sunday, the Voting Rights Act of 1965, the ratification of the 15th Amendment guaranteeing African American men the right to vote, and the Emancipation Proclamation, to name a few, represent critical turning points in history. The 1955 death of Emmett Till further exposed the deep-seated hatred of the Jim Crow era and helped spark a movement that reshaped the nation and advanced the fight for racial equality.
Milestones in television and film have also played a vital role in shaping popular culture. Shows like Saturday Night Live and In Living Color laid the groundwork for generations of influential comedians and creatives, redefining comedy, representation, and entertainment. Film and television have served as mirrors of their time, preserving history while creating shared moments of nostalgia and collective memory.
Together, these anniversaries reveal that progress is forged through struggle, creativity, and resilience. As history continues to unfold, they remind us that activism, innovation, and storytelling remain powerful forces in challenging injustice, inspiring change, and shaping the future.
