Black Lives Matter began after Trayvon Martin's death. Ferguson showed its staying power.

© 2019 NBCNEWS.COMIn "Their Eyes Were Watching God," author Zora Neale Hurston wrote, “There are years that ask questions and years that answer.” The last decade did much of both for my generation — Black millennials who are determined to live our lives with dignity and shape a new future for ourselves and our communities free of oppression.But to understand them, you have to understand the years that came before. The Ferguson uprising gave birth to a Black resistance movement that continues to thrive today.Our work as the Black Lives Matter Global Network would not exist without the tireless work of Ferguson organizers. Will it increase social mobility or class stratification?• The success of the 'me too' movement took a decade of work, not just a hashtag• The decade in LGBTQ: Pop culture visibility but stalled political progress• Egg freezing and IVF in the 2010s brought us the next phase in women's lib• How Netflix, Star Wars and Marvel redefined Hollywood — and how we experience movies• Opioids, pot and criminal justice reform helped undermine this decade's War on Drugs• Climate change became a burning issue in the past decade, but also an opportunity• Taylor Swift, Beyoncé, Rihanna, Gaga, Pink and Kesha cleared the way for women in the 2010s• Celebrities like Gwyneth Paltrow made the 2010s the decade of health and wellness misinformation• White Christian America ended in the 2010sNew York Times bestselling author ("When They Call You a Terrorist: A Black Lives Matter Memoir") Patrisse Cullors is the founder/chair of Reform LA Jails and faculty director of the Social and Environmental Arts Practice MFA at Prescott College.