Timeline: 2000

The census recorded 20,045 Black residents in Champaign County.

Summer 2000: The first annual Jettie Rhodes Neighborhood Day was hosted at King Park in Urbana. Jettie Rhodes was an Urbana citizen who helped to start an adopt-a-park program at King Park and conducted neighborhood clean-ups. She held the first Neighborhood Day which has continued in her honor.

September 2000: Nathaniel “Nate” Causley, Jr. co-founded the first completely African American owned national social media site, BlackCyberSpaceOnLine, Inc. Now called BlackCyberSpace.com, it’s in its 26th year. Born in Champaign, Nate graduated from Centennial High School in 1981.

October 4, 2000: African American students from Champaign Community School District #4 filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court of the Central District of Illinois against the School District.