In the Ethiopian town of Agula-e, women wait for food to be distributed. A political conflict between Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) has exploded into war and a grave humanitarian crisis. As many as two million people have been displaced and thousands have been killed. “We don’t have any food, we don’t have any medication, all our property was looted,” says Salam Abraha (middle). “Every day, people are dying here.”
More than a year after Beirut's horrific port explosion, Lebanese families continue to mourn the loss of loved ones. Hamze Eskandar, 25, was a soldier stationed at the port when tons of stored ammonium nitrate exploded on August 4, 2020, killing him and more than 200 others. His three sisters display his portrait and wear medallions around their necks bearing his image.
Children in Tulsa raise their fists during a march commemorating the 100th anniversary of the Tulsa Race Massacre. During the two-day rampage in 1921, white rioters killed as many as 300 Black residents and destroyed an affluent business community known as Black Wall Street.
A statue of Confederate General Robert E. Lee is removed from its pedestal in Richmond, Virginia, on September 8. The 12-ton statue towered over Monument Avenue since 1890. Its removal, following a state Supreme Court ruling, spurred jubilation among those gathered to witness the momentous event.
On the campus of Oklahoma State University, a mural commemorating the Tulsa race massacre stands as a visible reminder of a history that was smothered and contested for much of the past century.
The fishing community of Leeville, Louisiana, was heavily damaged by Hurricane Ida, which made landfall as a Category 4 storm on August 29.
Six Indigenous children disinterred from graves at a former boarding school in Pennsylvania are laid to rest at the Rosebud Sioux Reservation in South Dakota as an honor guard watches over the ceremony on July 17. The remains of three other children were returned to family members for private burials.
An elderly resident of Evia, Greece’s second largest island, laments as a wildfire approaches her home on August 8. Fires swept so much of the island that thousands of residents had to be evacuated by boat.
A judge inspects the colorful, floral outfits of female equestrians known as escaramuzas at a Mexican rodeo, or charreada, in Snelling, California. Teams of riders complete complex synchronized choreography on horseback while riding sidesaddle in ornate outfits meant to mimic the garb of women who fought in the Mexican Revolution. Their dresses are judged as carefully as their horsemanship, and any departure from strict standards can result in point deductions.
Clouds of tear gas, pepper spray, and dust from fire extinguishers used as weapons against police envelop Trump supporters during the mayhem at the Capitol on January 6.
The magnitude 7.2 earthquake that struck Haiti on August 14 caused widespread devastation and killed more than 2,200 people. This child was airlifted from the Haitian city of Jeremie by the U.S. Coast Guard and taken to a hospital in Port-au-Prince, the capital.
On January 19, police officers from across the U.S. assembled at the convention centre in Washington to be sworn in for service during the next day's presidential inauguration. On inauguration day, thousands of law enforcement and military personnel were on site to ensure a smooth transition of power.
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.
Pope Francis is welcomed at the presidential palace in Baghdad shortly after the pontiff’s arrival in Iraq on March 5. Francis is the first pope to visit Iraq. “I am coming as a pilgrim, as a penitent pilgrim, to implore from the Lord forgiveness and reconciliation after years of war and terrorism, to beg from God the consolation of hearts and the healing of wounds,” Francis said in a greeting to the people of Iraq before his visit.
Students in Jakarta, Indonesia, returned to school in September wearing masks and obeying stringent health protocols. The move was motivated by a “decline in learning achievement” during the pandemic, said Nadiem Makarim, former Minister of Education. “Many children have dropped out of school, especially women.”
