In 2023 our photojournalists made striking images of national and international events impacting the D.C. region: the smoke-filled air from the Canadian wildfires that blanketed the area, the federal indictment of former President Trump, and the demonstrations over the Israel-Hamas war.
More often, though, we’ve highlighted the important but less-noticed moments, the slices of life in the rich and diverse communities of this area.
Take, for example, the photo above, a moment from the first Literary Costume Ball at the Library of Congress in September. Shauna Chase of Alexandria, Va. dressed as Uhura from Star Trek with around two thousand people in the Thomas Jefferson Building at the LOC who also dressed as their favorite characters. “When I was growing up my mother absolutely loved watching Star Trek… I thought it was weird but then I got into it myself and then I just fell in love with the character,” Chase told us.
Here’s a look back at some other special moments from the year around the region, told in photographs.
Oprah Winfrey’s portrait at the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery
The Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery unveiled a commissioned portrait of Oprah Winfrey, who attended the ceremony in D.C. on Wednesday, Dec. 13, with a number of her friends by her side. The nearly 7-foot-tall portrait, painted by Chicago-based artist Shawn Michael Warren, is now on display on the Portrait Gallery’s first floor, near the museum’s G Street NW entrance, and will remain on view until Oct. 2024, when the Smithsonian will place it in storage.
“I learned … to understand that God can dream a bigger dream for you than you can ever dream for yourself,” Winfrey said at the unveiling. “Because of all the dreams that I had, I didn’t even know there was a national gallery. I didn’t know there was a national gallery to dream and aspire to and for. And so I am living and breathing God’s dream for me this day.” Read the story here.
Holi celebration
Hundreds of people gathered outside Union Market in D.C. in early March to celebrate the Festival of Colors, or Holi. There was music, food, and of course, lots of colored powder.
Holi is primarily a Hindu holiday that’s meant to signal the arrival of spring, the love of the gods Radha and Krishna, and the triumph of good over evil. It’s celebrated throughout the Indian subcontinent and the diaspora around the world — including the D.C. region. Read the story here.
Prince George’s County boxer going to the Olympics
Prince George’s County native and featherweight boxer Jahmal Harvey became the first male boxer for Team USA to qualify for the upcoming Olympics in Paris after winning gold at the Pan American Games in Santiago, Chile. But the 21-year-old from Oxon Hill, Md., says he never expected to become a world contender when he first picked up the gloves.
At 12 years old, Harvey’s youth football coach introduced him to boxing in between seasons.
“Truth be told, when I first started boxing, I didn’t know what I was doing,” Harvey says. “And then football season came around. I was like, ‘No, I don’t want it to stop boxing.’” Read the story here.
MPD losing officers
This portrait of former Metropolitan Police Department officer Mike Savage at his Maryland home was made as part of an investigation into MPD overtime and mismanagement, which has enabled some officers to make big salaries but also has led to the departure of many others from the force.
“If you ask me, all the people I know that left, they all left for the same reasons — for their mental state,” Savage told us. “To protect themselves for their family … so that you don’t come home one day so disgruntled, so beat down, so beat up that you’re unrecognizable.” Read the story here.
Go-go museum groundbreaking
The Go-Go Museum and Café has been a long time coming. Anti-violence activist Ronald Moten, who’s behind the museum on Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue in Anacostia, has spoken publicly about his idea for a place that would celebrate the history and culture of go-go music for at least five years. But ask him about it directly, and Moten will say that the work to create this museum began decades ago.
“None of this stuff just happened,” Moten tells DCist/WAMU. “This was a vision and a fight with others to make it happen.” Read the story here.
Howard University swimming and diving team
Howard is the only historically Black college or university that still has an NCAA swimming program, and they made a real splash this year: the Bisons won their first conference championship in over 30 years. The men and women broke 31 team and conference records at the meet, restoring pride to a program that, just a decade ago, was virtually incapable of winning and on the verge of being shut down. Read the story here.
Eid Al-Fitr celebration
The end of Ramadan for Muslims all over the world marks the start of Eid Al-Fitr, which is meant to be a time to celebrate after a month of fasting and prayers. In the D.C. region, thousands of people gathered on April 21 in the early morning for the Eid prayer at the Diyanet Center of America in Prince George’s County, Md. Pictured here are Lapis Larkspur, left, from Northern Virginia, and on right, Anna Marsam and Nora Marsam, sisters from Lanham, Md. Read the story here.
Mothering the community as Black women
For many women, and especially many Black women in America, motherhood comes to mean something broader than rearing their own children — it encapsulates labor performed in service of a whole community.
In our region, Black women living in Wards 7 and 8, in particular, exemplify the concept of “othermothering” or community mothering — providing support and care to their neighborhoods, often at the cost of their own well-being. The practices of community mothering and “othermothering” are not exclusive to Wards 7 and 8, or to the Black community for that matter, but they mold themselves to the unique struggles of Black people as a whole.
The photo above was part of the DCist/WAMU series Voices of Wards 7 and 8, spotlighting Black women who have become pillars within the community to share not only what they do, but who they are and what they need. Read the story here.
Premier Ultimate League championship
The Premier Ultimate League Championship Weekend came to Carlini Field in Washington, D.C. in June, highlighting the professional ultimate disc scene for women and non-binary players. Four teams in the league made it: D.C. Shadow, Raleigh Radiance, N.Y. Gridlock, and Minnesota Strike. Raleigh bested local D.C. Shadow in their first game 18-1 6 and went on to win the league championship. Read the story here.
Local forests in “imminent failure”
In 90% of national parks in the D.C. area, forests are in “imminent or probable failure” in terms of regeneration. That means there are not enough seedlings and saplings to replace the big trees as they die. The understory layer of young trees is missing, eaten by overabundant deer and crowded out by invasive plants. Plus, threats like diseases, invasive pests, and climate change are stressing forests. This project is a deep dive into the health of the local forests and what people are doing to help out. Read the story here.
Mourning for Israeli and Palestinian victims
On October 10, more than 100 people gathered at Malcolm X Park to publicly recite the Kaddish — a Jewish prayer for the dead — for both Israelis and Palestinians killed in the October 7 Hamas attack and the subsequent Israeli strikes on Gaza. The event was organized by the group IfNotNow, a Jewish organization that says its mission is to organize “for equality, justice, and a thriving future for Palestinians and Israelis,” to create a space for local people to come together. Read the story here.
[See DCist/WAMU full coverage of Israel-Hamas war here.]
Local Black activists support for ceasefire in Palestine
For Harriet’s Wildest Dreams activists, a connection with the Pro-Palestine movement formed during the 2020 protests against police brutality following the murder of George Floyd. The group’s co-founder Nee Nee Taylor says Palestinian activists not only showed up to the protests but taught local activists how to protect themselves against severe police tactics like tear gas.
“Palestine showed up so strong for Black lives,” Taylor tells DCist/WAMU. “So there’s no way that Harriet’s Wildest Dreams cannot return that energy and comradeship.” Read the story here.
Love letters to themselves
Labriel McCollum, 12, is one of a number of D.C. youth who attend the FAN (Fihankra Akoma Ntoaso) after school program in Ward 8. With his peers, Labriel participated in a writing class taught by by Vera Oyé Yaa-Anna, or “Auntie Oyé,” as she is known. The West African-born professional storyteller had the children write love letters to themselves. “Dear Labriel, I love that I have a lot of hair and that I love to play sports,” Labriel wrote in his letter. Read the story here.
Hawaiian dance performance
In honor of Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander heritage month, Halau Nohona Hawai’i held a ho’ike, or performance, at the auditorium of Northwood High School in Silver Spring. Accompanied by the sounds of live guitar, ukulele, and ipu – a percussion instrument made from a gourd – the group wanted to highlight the history of hula, which was once outlawed in Hawaii.
The halau, or dance school, was co-founded by Kaimana Chee in 2014 and provides weekly classes in hula, music, and singing. Chee started performing at the age of six and was eventually given the title of kumu, which means teacher. Now, he says it’s his life’s commitment to honor and pass on those traditions, especially to the local community.
“No matter where I am in the world, I want to share aloha,” Chee says. “I’ve always felt… that I need to be a perpetrator and a sharer of Hawaiian culture.” Read the story here.
