Turntable, by Amanda Schachter and Alexander Levi, at SLO Architecture along the Delaware River waterfront. The sculpture is made from disposable face masks, and harvests wind energy.
TOM GRALISHThe haze from 2020 had barely begun to lift as we witnessed a mob overtake the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. Immediately, uncertainty set in as to what kind of year we could expect to have — or whether we should have expectations at all.
Some of the words that came up as we reviewed Inquirer photojournalists’ best work for the 2021 Year in Pictures: recovery, hopeful, frightened, persistent. It’s a year that has taken us, physically and emotionally, all over the place, as evident in the work displayed here.
Through our lenses, we told stories of Philadelphia’s unchecked gun violence, people of all ages who are carrying trauma and scars both seen and unseen. We documented some of the worst storm damage the region has experienced in years. And we showed the human side of COVID-19 — the euphoria of vaccinations and the crushing reality of new variants — as the pandemic extended into its second full year.
We also managed to find moments, large and small, that were cause for celebration. Moments of fun, of love, of hope, that carried us through the year and helped propel us toward 2022. Those moments and others that caught our eyes over the past year are what we are sharing with you today in our annual Year in Pictures and Year in Video.
— Rachel Molenda, Digital Photo Editor
The year started with an Insurrection
On Jan. 6, members of Congress gathered to certify the results of the presidential election. Not far from Capitol Hill was a gathering of a distinctly different intent: Supporters of President Donald Trump moved to take over the Capitol in order to stop the certification. Five people died. The mob’s efforts to keep Joe Biden from the presidency were unsuccessful.
But we found moments of Peace
Iryna Shmanenko records windblown cherry blossoms on Delaware Avenue in Philadelphia on April 20.
HEATHER KHALIFA
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Joe Ligon stops for a portrait outside his lawyer’s office in Center City on Feb. 11. Ligon was the longest-serving juvenile lifer in the country. He had been imprisoned since 1953 before his release this year.
JESSICA GRIFFIN
A crowd gathers on the beach in Atlantic City to watch the fall of Trump Plaza on Feb. 17. The building — one of Atlantic City’s most iconic symbols of failure — was imploded during an Ash Wednesday breakfast hour, followed by an after party.
ELIZABETH ROBERTSONOur health workers worked hard to distribute Vaccines
Vaccines began rolling out in January 2021 — first to health-care workers, then to others deemed essential, and finally to the public at large. With the vaccines, so came hope. While more than 96.5% of adult Philadelphians have had at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, disparities in BIPOC communities remain, and those gaps are much wider among children.
Harry Caramanica (center), an ER nurse at Roxborough Memorial Hospital, in dismay after a patient died Jan. 19. Nearly a year after the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, Caramancia and colleagues at three local ERs began to feel some semblance of hope as vaccines were rolled out.
JESSICA GRIFFIN
Harry Caramanica (center), an ER nurse at Roxborough Memorial Hospital, in dismay after a patient died Jan. 19. Nearly a year after the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, Caramancia and colleagues at three local ERs began to feel some semblance of hope as vaccines were rolled out.
JESSICA GRIFFINCarol McKenna (left), 75, thanked nurse practitioner Tarik Khan after he gave her the first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine at her home in South Philadelphia on April 5. Khan spent the entire evening administering five unused vaccine doses to homebound individuals, as well as five scheduled second doses for homebound individuals and their caretakers whom he had previously vaccinated with unused doses.
We did our best for the Children
Teachers did their best with the situation at hand, providing moments of levity for students, trying to keep kids and themselves safe in the classroom, and speaking out — and walking out — when they felt otherwise.
First-grade teacher Michele Matza teaches reading to students at Belmont Charter School on Feb. 25. The school brought K-2 students back to classrooms first, then grades 3-5.
JESSICA GRIFFIN
First-grade teacher Michele Matza teaches reading to students at Belmont Charter School on Feb. 25. The school brought K-2 students back to classrooms first, then grades 3-5.
JESSICA GRIFFIN
King Davis mixes soap and water during a science experiment at a summer camp at La Salle University on July 16.
JOSE F. MORENO
The Parkside Saints youth football team does core exercises in the long grass on the fields behind the Tustin Recreation Center in Philadelphia on July 19.
MONICA HERNDON
Priscilla whispers in her father Leroy Miller’s ear during a tour of his dairy farm in Ronks, near Lancaster on Oct. 26.
ALEJANDRO A. ALVAREZWe saw bursts of celebration take place as the weather warmed, from students participating in West Deptford High School’s junior-senior prom on the Battleship New Jersey in May, as well as during a white-coat ceremony for Jefferson medical school students at the Crystal Tea Room in July.
We showed our appreciation to life by returning to the dance floor at the Girasol Tango Social at Sunflower Philly. We honored legacy. Weatta Frazier Collins kissed the statue of her father, world heavyweight champion Joe Frazier, which was unveiled on the 50th anniversary of his fight against Muhammad Ali.
The Center City skyline on Oct. 18.
TOM GRALISHOur teams fought for Victory
Drama thrived at the Wells Fargo Center after the 76ers bonked in a final playoffs game against the Atlanta Hawks. Sixers guard Ben Simmons disappeared from the court. And when he finally returned to practice, he was less than enthusiastic. A troublesome situation for one of the team’s stars, but a good opportunity for rookies who have been waiting in the wings.
The Union are well on their way to becoming one of the elite teams in Major League Soccer, with the team’s 2021 season its best yet. The club went on to the MLS Eastern Conference finals, where it ultimately lost, 2-1, to New York City FC.
Bryce Harper won the second MVP award of his career this year.
Atlanta Braves second baseman Ozzie Albies scores past Phillies catcher Andrew Knapp during the first inning on July 22.
Flyers center Kevin Hayes skates after Washington Capitals defenseman Nick Jensen on March 11.
Goaltender Carter Hart stands at the ready before the Flyers played the Carolina Hurricanes on Nov. 26.
New Jersey native and soccer legend Carli Lloyd retired this year. She is pictured at her final game in the Philadelphia area on Oct. 6, against the Washington Spirit.
New coach. New quarterbacks. The Eagles were still finding themselves through the 2021-22 season, and questions remain about how head coach Nick Sirianni will make necessary improvements to the team.
Quarterback Jalen Hurts emerges from the players tunnel before the Eagles play the New Orleans Saints on Nov. 21.
DAVID MAIALETTIThe city reeled from a surge in Violence
Bullet holes in the window of a small grocery store, where a 1-year-old child and a man were injured after gunshots were fired into the store at 51st and Haverford in West Philadelphia on July 17.
JESSICA GRIFFIN
In the same year that Philadelphia surpassed its record of 500 homicides, set in 1990, The Inquirer followed the families of those directly impacted by gun violence in the city. Just a few neighborhoods experience violence at this a high level, which has left fear and loss among a small percentage of the city’s residents.
Tennah Kromah, the mother of 8-year-old Fanta Bility, surrounded by family on Aug. 31. Fanta was accidentally killed by police earlier that month when officers fired at a car they mistakenly believed was connected to a shooting.
JESSICA GRIFFIN
Tennah Kromah, the mother of 8-year-old Fanta Bility, surrounded by family on Aug. 31. Fanta was accidentally killed by police earlier that month when officers fired at a car they mistakenly believed was connected to a shooting.
JESSICA GRIFFIN
Emily Johnson (back center) during a large memorial for her son KJ Johnson at Boys Latin High School in Philadelphia on July 26.
JESSICA GRIFFINWe picked up the Pieces
It’s not only people we’ve lost to gun violence. It’s plans, dreams, and lives we thought we’d live. We published a series where survivors of shootings showed us what it’s like when life takes a starkly different turn, and how they have tried to regain some semblance of peace.
The drug trade in Kensington is approaching a billion-dollar enterprise, crippling residents and drastically altering the lives of those experiencing addiction.
ELIZABETH ROBERTSON
The drug trade in Kensington is approaching a billion-dollar enterprise, crippling residents and drastically altering the lives of those experiencing addiction.
ELIZABETH ROBERTSONWe found ourselves looking for Justice
Edward Cagney Mathews is pummeled with water bottles as he is escorted by police through a crowd of protesters July 5. Protesters gathered outside his Mount Laurel home after a video went viral showing Mathews shouting racial slurs and offensive language at his neighbors.
TOM GRALISHThe Pennsylvania Supreme Court overturned comedian Bill Cosby’s 2018 sexual assault conviction, when he was two years into serving a three- to 10-year sentence. Some of Cosby’s victims, including Lili Bernard and Stacey Pinkerton, organized a vigil in protest following his release.
John Dougherty (center), head of IBEW Local 98, outside Philadelphia Federal Court on Nov. 10. Dougherty was convicted, along with City Councilmember Bobby Henon, on federal bribery charges.
JOSE F. MORENOAsia Black Bull (right) and other members of the Sicangu Youth Council throw handfuls of dirt into the six graves at Sicangu Akicita Owicahe, the Rosebud Sioux Tribe Veterans Cemetery on July 17.
CHARLES FOX
Asia Black Bull (right) and other members of the Sicangu Youth Council throw handfuls of dirt into the six graves at Sicangu Akicita Owicahe, the Rosebud Sioux Tribe Veterans Cemetery on July 17.
CHARLES FOXWe found reasons to Celebrate
Khavon Street (left) and Kennaya Street kiss in front of the “marriage selfie mural,” after getting their marriage license March 3. The mural was created by Mural Arts staff artist Nathaniel Lee at the Register of Wills, which oversees the Wedding License Bureau.
JESSICA GRIFFINWe tuned in to live streamed drag performances. We turned out for Doja Cat on the Parkway. We visited Chinatown for an autumn festival. We wanted to have a good time. So we did.
There were moments of inspiration, whether it came in the form of a drag show in front of a full-capacity crowd, a bigger-than-life piece of art that quickly became an overnight attraction in Center City, or a candy store opened in honor of the owner’s 16-year-old son, who had been killed three years prior.
And we fought for our Families
Children hold signs at a rally to stop Asian hate on Nov. 30. The rally was held for Christina Lu, an Asian American high school student, who was assaulted on the SEPTA subway.
Mohammad Sabour Khalil holds his son while he speaks about access to health care on Sept. 9. Khalil arrived from Afghanistan with his family in early August.
Cheryl Edwards (right) was discovered abandoned as a newborn under a dresser in a vacant apartment of a West Philly rowhouse on Aug. 14, 1967. After a story in The Inquirer and Daily News was published this year, relatives of her biological family and others stepped forward. Cheryl and her family were reunited on Oct. 2 at the site where she was found in 1967, which is now a vacant lot. She hugs LaKeisha Heller, whom she was meeting for the first time. Heller’s father found Cheryl.
CHARLES FOXWe had a sweltering Summer
Jessica Clendenin and her 3-year old son, Alaric Smith, swing together in Norwood Lower Park on April 27.
DAVID MAIALETTISummer took us outside, and we relished in the level of safety we felt as much of the city — and world — was getting vaccinated against COVID-19.
Vernon Jordan III, 26, posed for a portrait at Holman Field in Philadelphia on April 18 as part of The Inquirer’s Wildest Dreams project. He said, "My grandfather and grandma were building their family in the era of the Black arts movement and the Black power movement. And it was like, you're going to be proud of who you are."
MONICA HERNDONWe made life delicious
Shola Olunloyo, a Philly-based chef, picks vegetables in the garden at Blue Hill at Stone Barns in Tarrytown, N.Y., on Sept. 23. Olunloyo participated in the residency program at the Stone Barns Center earlier in the year, and incorporated his native Nigerian flavors into a meal he cooked later that evening.
HEATHER KHALIFAAbbygale Bloomfield (right) and her mother, Sandra Brown, pose with their jerk fried chicken at Kingston 11.
A crowd takes in a drink at Fountain Porter in Philadelphia.
The salmon toast at The Landing Kitchen, an all-day cafe created by Nicholas Elmi and Fia Berisha at the riverside redevelopment of the Pencoyd Ironworks on July 10.
CHARLES FOXWe endured a changing Climate
The impacts of climate change came into focus. Though no wildfires burned around Philly, the smoke of those that burned out West traveled across the country, sullying our skies with smog. Tornadoes ripped through the region, leaving a wake of destruction.
West Coast wildfire smoke makes for a vivid sunset over the Cooper River in Camden County on Sept. 14 setting over the Cooper River in Camden County. The smoke came from wildfires in California, Oregon, Washington state, and Minnesota.
TOM GRALISHPeople take photos of flipped over cars at the Faulkner Buick GMC Trevose on July 30 after a tornado ripped through Bucks County the evening before.
HEATHER KHALIFA
People take photos of flipped over cars at the Faulkner Buick GMC Trevose on July 30 after a tornado ripped through Bucks County the evening before.
HEATHER KHALIFAAlong came Ida
Hurricane Ida, which had become a tropical storm by the time it moved over Philadelphia, resulted in catastrophic flooding, filling the Vine Street Expressway, and, in other parts of the region, taking lives.
Looking back on a year in Philly
These are the images that pieced together the moments of 2021 in Philadelphia. They are the ones we’ll remember — some rekindling painful memories, others sparking reminders of joy — as we move into 2022.
The new year brings time for reflection and renewal. With it, we hope the 2021 Year in Pictures and Year in Video provide moments from another year we won’t soon forget.
Zyiah, Zachary, Dynnae, and Bruce Nash walk together behind the Philadelphia Museum of Art on Sept. 10. Nash lives for time with his family, but being outdoors in a public place is stressful for him due to post-traumatic stress.
JESSICA GRIFFINStaff Contributors
- PUBLISHER AND CEO Elizabeth H. Hughes
- EDITOR AND SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT Gabriel Escobar
- MANAGING EDITOR Patrick Kerkstra
- MANAGING EDITOR, VISUALS Danese Kenon
- DEPUTY DIRECTOR OF VIDEO & PHOTOGRAPHY Frank Wiese
- DIGITAL PHOTO EDITOR Rachel Molenda
- PHOTO COVERAGE EDITOR David Maialetti
- INTERACTIVE DESIGN Dain Saint, Sam Morris
- LEAD VIDEO EDITOR & PRODUCER Astrid Rodrigues
- VIDEO EDITOR, YEAR IN VIDEOS Raishad Hardnett
- PHOTOGRAPHY & VIDEO Alejandro A. Alvarez, Charles Fox, Heather Khalifa, Monica Herndon, Yong Kim, Jose F. Moreno, Elizabeth Robertson, Tom Gralish, Tim Tai, Steven M. Falk, Jessica Griffin, Tyger Williams, Thomas Hengge, Kristen Balderas, Lauren Schneiderman
- SALES & MARKETING Pete Doucette, Darya Ushakova, Lauren Amato, Tony Cuffie, Rachel Ciampaglia, Michelle Lopez, Sarah Jarvis, Kim Rossmair, Lyn Klein-Kirlin, Terrance Young, YaYa Horne, Mark Nichols, James Wilkinson, Gia Benedetti
- DIGITAL Ray Boyd, Ross Maghielse, Dan Hirschhorn, Lauren Aguirre, Patricia Madej, Sam Morris, Ashley Hoffman, Caryn Shaffer, Erin Gavle, TJ Furman
- PRODUCT Matt Boggie, Becky Bowers, Julie Westfall, Nadya Tan
- INQStudio Elizabeth Samet, Jen Strauss, Paul Siegell, Jeanine Reilly, Ben Leaman, Patrick Binkley, Sharon MacNair
- PROJECT MANAGEMENT Brittany A. Bailey
- EDITING Evan S. Benn, Brian Leighton
- LEGAL Suzanne Mitchell Parillo