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Jared Soares

Members of the Phi Beta Sigma fraternity gather for an impromptu step dance after Howard University's commencement ceremony in Washington, D.C., on May 8, 2021. Only undergraduate students were allowed to attend the outdoor, in-person ceremony held at the university’s stadium. Friends and family scattered around outside of the stadium instead. “As I was bouncing around campus, I started to think about how much the students had been through the past year and how this particular moment must feel for them,” said photographer Jared Soares. “To be able to witness the students' jubilation was a huge privilege, and even more meaningful based on the circumstances that we as a community had to endure the past year and a half.”

Brothers of Phi Beta Sigma fraternity at Howard University in Washington, D.C., take part in a longtime graduation tradition: a jubilant, choreographed stroll down Sixth Street N.W. “It’s a rite of passage,” says Travis Xavier Brown (at far right), a 2021 theatre graduate. The pandemic forced Howard to switch to online classes, but as COVID-19 cases fell, the school opted to hold a joint, in-person commencement for the classes of 2020 and 2021.

The Howard University Showtime March Band practices on campus the night before it escorted Kamala Harris, a Howard graduate, to the inauguration.

Four days after election day, Saturday revellers in Washington D.C.'s Black Lives Matter Plaza react to the news that Joe Biden has won enough electoral votes to be assured the presidency.

Four days after Election Day, revellers at Black Lives Matter Plaza in Washington, D.C., react to Joseph R. Biden, Jr., becoming the president-elect.

A pedestrian passes boarded-up businesses in the Farragut North neighbourhood of Washington, D.C. on Monday. Many businesses near the White House and in downtown D.C. have boarded up their windows and doorways in case of unrest

Birds fly past the Washington Monument in Washington, D.C.

Adam Canaday, who portrays a journeyman coach driver, stands with his horse, Commodore, at Colonial Williamsburg in Williamsburg, Virginia. He is one of dozens of historical interpreters of colour who work at the living-history site.