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It wasa decade of progress.

Former President Barack Obama, the nations first black president, was elected for a second term.

Protesters and professional athletes took a stand against police killings of black men.

Social media becametheplatform for calls for racial justice,sparking the launch of the Black Lives Matter social justice movement.

The 2010s were, by all means, monumental for black activism, giving many Americans hope that their voices might be heard.

It was a decade, however, that also saw theelection of President Donald Trumpwho pledged to support tougher law enforcement and limitimmigrationas well as renewed activity from thewhite nationalist movement, resultingin mass shootings and other incidents of domestic terrorism against people of color.

Civil rights activists now say more must bedone in the new decade to advance the rights of black people in the U.S. and build on the progress made since 2010.

Weseem to have taken significant steps forward, but it alsofeels like we havetaken significant steps backward," said Martin Luther King III, the son of Martin Luther King Jr. The policy changes that we need have not yet been manifested."

Martin Luther King speaks in Atlanta in 1960.(Photo: AP Photo)

King said movements such as Black Lives Matter motivated young organizers across the country to protestagainst violence and systemic racism towardblack people. In many ways, thatactivism was a continuation of the work civil rights leaders started in the 1960s.But while the Black Lives Mattermessage resonated for much of thedecade,Kingsaid, not much has changed in how police officers treat people of color.

Since 2012, when George Zimmerman, a white Hispanic, shot and killed17-year-old Trayvon Martin, who was black,in Sanford, Florida, sparking activism that would become the Black Lives Matter movement, manyblack men and women continue to die at the hands ofpolice.According to a study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences this year, about 1 in 1,000 black men and boys in the U.S.can expect to be killed by police. That makes them 2.5 times more likely than white men and boys to die during interactions with law enforcement. Meanwhile, black women are 1.4 times more likely than white women to be killed by police.

The nation is also struggling to overcomeinjustices such as voter suppression, disparities in the education systemand housing inequalities that targetpeople of color, activists say.

A survey released earlier this year by the non-partisan Pew Research Center revealed nearly 6 in 10 Americans saidrace relations in the country were bad. And 56% said Trump maderace relationsworse.Conversely, in 2009, 41% of Americans saidrace relations had gotten better with Obama's presidency, while 22%said they had gotten worse, according to a Gallup Poll.

Martin's slayingfollowed by the acquittal of Zimmerman in 2013 marked a pivotal point for race relations in this decade.Millions were protesting across the country, demanding an end to the racial profiling of black men. Some wore hoodies to the protestssymbolizing what Martin wore the night Zimmerman shot him as the teenager walked to his father'sfiance's house from a nearby convenience store.

Protestors, Lakesha Hall, 32, of Sanford, center, and her son, Calvin Simms, 12, right, gather early for a rally for Trayvon Martin, the black teenager who was fatally shot by a neighborhood watch captain last month, at Fort Mellon Park in Sanford, Florida, on March 22, 2012.(Photo: Julie Fletcher, AP)

Soon after the shooting, Obama acknowledged that Martin's death proved theUnited Stateswas still not a post-racial society."You know, if I had a son, he'd look like Trayvon," Obama said during a news conference at the White House. "All of us as Americans are going to take this with the seriousness it deserves."

On July 13, 2013, Zimmerman was found not guilty of second-degree murder. That same day, the Black Lives Matter organization was officiallylaunched.

Patrisse Cullors, co-founder of Black Lives Matter, said the movement exposed what was already happening to black people in black communities.It also inspired a new generation of activists millennials and Gen Zers to fight for equality, she said.

Their efforts, however,have been challengedby a growing white supremacy movement. In 2018, there was an almost 50%increase in total white nationalist groups, jumping to 148 from 100, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center.

"The rise of white nationalism has everything to do with the backlash against the black uprising," Cullors said. "It iscritical that we situate what has happened in the last 10 years as part of a longer history of this happening."

Two years after Martin's death, the nation became divided once again when Ferguson, Missouri, police officer Darren Wilson fatally shotunarmed black teenager Michael Brown.The St. Louis suburb became the center of unrest when demonstrations, violence and looting erupted.

The crowds wanted police to stop racial profiling.Ferguson police had a history of unfairly targeting black people, but the Obama administration'sDepartment of Justice ultimately concluded that Wilson shot Brown in self-defense.

Demonstrators raise their arms and chant, "Hands up, Don't Shoot", as police clear them from the street as they protest the shooting death of Michael Brown on Aug. 17, 2014, in Ferguson, Missouri.(Photo: Joe Raedle, Getty Images)

The next five years would bring more controversial deaths of black people. Activists maintain that racism motivatedeveryincident:

Experts say some of these incidents were better documented in the 2010s because of advancements in technology.Police body cameras, dash camerasand cellphone videos from witnesses provided unprecedentedevidence for law enforcement officials, as well as the American public.

For example, a police dash cam video recorded Yanez shooting Castile during thetraffic stop. Castile's girlfriend, Diamond Reynolds, who was sitting in the passenger seat,also recorded the moments after the shooting on a Facebook Live video.Yanez was acquitted of all charges in the shooting, despite protests from the community.

Castile's mother, Valerie Castile, said she was not surprised when the jury acquitted Yanez. Castile saidshe has watched police get away with shooting black men her entire life.

With hopes of saving lives, Castile said she is working with the state of Minnesotato distribute a manual that tells drivers what to do if they are carrying a gun and get pulled over by police.

Valerie Castile, mother of Philando Castile, listens on during a press conference on Nov. 16, 2016 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Ramsey County Attorney John Choi filed charges today against St. Anthony Police Officer Jeronimo Yanez, who shot and killed Castile during a traffic stop.(Photo: Stephen Maturen, Getty Images)

There is never a reason why the police kill our black men," Castile said."But there are a hell of a lot of excuses, and we are trying to eliminate some of the excuses."

Robert Bennett, a Minneapolis-based attorney for the Castile family, said he remains hopeful that with "hard evidence" from cameras and publicawareness, morepolice will be convicted of shooting black men when appropriate.

One sign of progress was in October 2018 when Chicago police officerJason Van Dykewas convicted of second-degree murder for shooting Laquan McDonald, 17, as he walked away from police.

Police initially reported that McDonald, who was black, refused to put down a knife he was carryingand lunged at them. But when the court ordered police to release the dash cam video, it showed McDonald walking away from police when he was shot.

"It doesnt give the police as much room to wiggle," Bennett said ofthe cameras. Theres some reason to think they might be held accountable at some point."

The fight for equality also showed up in sports and entertainment this decade.

One of the most discussed events came in August 2016 when Colin Kaepernick, then the San Francisco 49ers quarterback, refusedto stand for The Star-Spangled Banner before a preseason game against the Green Bay Packers. Kaepernick said he could not show pride for a flag in a country that oppresses black people.

San Francisco 49ers' Eli Harold, Colin Kaepernick and Eric Reid kneel in protest during the playing of the national anthem before a NFL game against the Arizona Cardinals at Levi's Stadium on Oct 6, 2016.(Photo: Kirby Lee, USA TODAY Sports)

Critics blastedKaepernick for his stance, characterizing him as a divisive figure. In August 2016, Trump said maybe Kaepernick "should find a country that works better for him.In September 2017, Trump said NFL owners should "get that son of a bitch off the field" when any players protest during the national anthem.Kaepernick has gone unsigned since2017 and has accusedthe NFL of blackballing him because of his political statements.

Kenneth B. Nunn, professor of law at the University of Florida, said the backlashtowardKaepernick hurts the movement for equality because a black man is being punishedfor speaking out against police brutality.

"It seems to be a social message of rejection and sort of ostracizes Kaepernickand members of the Black Lives Matter movement," Nunn said. We are looking at decades of asetback for AfricanAmerican progress."

Black celebritiesalso spoke out against the Academy Awards in 2016 when, for the second year in a row,no actors of color received an acting nomination.Spike Lee, Jada Pinkett Smith and other actorsthreatened to boycott the show.

A year later, in 2017,"Moonlight" becamethe first film with an all-black cast to win the Academy Award for best picture.

Other milestones for black America this decade included Beyonce being the first black woman to headline Coachella in California in April 2018, andMeghan Markle, a mixed black and whitewoman from Los Angeles, marryingPrince Henry in the United Kingdom in May 2018.

These high-profile moments in black history, as well asracial anxiety among some white voters from having a black president for the first halfof the decade,might have contributed to Trump winning his election in 2016, Nunn said.

President Donald Trump talks with former President Barack Obama on Capitol Hill in Washington, prior to Obama's departure to Andrews Air Force Base, Maryland, on Jan. 20, 2017.(Photo: Rob Carr, AP)

Obama often defended the Black Lives Matter movement andmet with young civil rights activists at the White House in 2014.Under his administration, the Department of Justiceinvested in training and research tohelp reduce implicit bias in police departments. It also provided millions of dollarsto agencies with community policing initiatives.

In 2017, Trump's administration ended the program and announced it would instead focus on providing support forofficersfighting gangs, drugs and violent crime. Trump would later tell police they didn't have to be nice to suspects.

Trump, meanwhile, has at timesbeen labeled a racist for his comments and tweets toward Latinos, black people and Muslims during his time in office.In January 2018, the presidentreferred to Haiti andblack-majority nationsin Africaas "shithole countries" during a meeting to discuss the U.S.visa lottery.

In July,he told four minority, liberal congresswomen,known as "the Squad," togo back and help fix the totally broken and crime-infested places from which they came."Trump also drew criticism when he called a majority-black congressional district inBaltimore "a disgusting, rat and rodent-infested mess."

Not only has hemade race relationsworse, but he has done so in ways that are both explicit and subtle," Nunn said.

Despite making little progress with racial equality in the 2010s, activists say they are still optimistic.

Cullors said she hopesthe nation is seeing the last vestiges of white nationalism in the Trump era. To make more progress, young activists needto engage in politics and prepare to run for office, Cullors said.

"I think racism has to die off with structures, too," Cullors said. "We have to change these policies the systems in place, the policies that hold people back."

Castile said policymakers are more likely to listen to people sitting at the table with them compared withprotesters.

We have a long way to go because once you turn social issues into politicalissues, then you have a bunch of red tape," Castile said. "But I've got so much hope, and I spend a lot of time talking to leaders."

King said progress in the next decade will require drastic changes to law enforcement practices, including training for police, community policing and civilian review boards.He is also working to end voter suppression and encouraging more voter registration and voter education efforts.

King acknowledged that these changes likely won't happen soon. But he hopesfuture leaders will move the nation forward.

We have to believe the best is yet to come," King said.I have great hope for the generations behind me."

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End of a decade: What the 2010s, Obama, Trump and Black Lives Matter meant for Americans - USA TODAY