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Best of 2020: Photography

Ashley Canady, resident council president at McDougald Terrace, and other tenants marched in the city’s Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Unity March and Rally in January. They demanded help for tenants moved from unsafe public housing. Photo by Corey Pilson | The 9th Street Journal

None of us will forget the year 2020. How could we?

This is the year global pandemic struck, followed by a national racial-justice reckoning and high-stakes political campaigns. In Durham, a crisis in the city’s largest public housing community swelled too.

Two 9th Street Journal student photojournalists — Corey Pilson in the spring and Henry Haggart in summer and fall — documented all that and more this year.

Here is some of their good work that we love best from 2020.

After unsafe conditions chased hundreds of residents from McDougald Terrace, Shimey Harvey regularly checked on the apartment where she and her son lived. Photo by Corey Pilson | The 9th Street Journal
Durham Public Schools closed classrooms suddenly in March to protect teachers, students and staff from the new coronavirus. In April, volunteers worked to get food to students and families who rely on free and reduced-price meals at Glenn Elementary School. Photo by Corey Pilson I The 9th Street Journal
After George Floyd was killed by police in May, protests swept the country. Downtown Durham businesses boarded up their storefronts in case violence swelled during marches here. In June, artists transformed blocks of plywood with art. Jaguar Perry called his work “Sambo in Wonderland”. Photo by Henry Haggart I The 9th Street Journal
A patient held an umbrella for Dr. Viviana Martinez-Bianchi while she administered a coronavirus test in July. Martinez-Bianchi co-founded Latin-19, a group of clinicians that stepped up to respond to a high rate of COVID-19 among Durham’s Latinx residents. Photo by Henry Haggart | The 9th Street Journal
After Durham police drew guns on a teenager and two children at Rochelle Manor Apartments in August, their families and supporters demanded that city officials release police body-camera footage. After a rally at Durham City Hall, a child examined a sign left behind. Photo by Henry Haggart I The 9th Street Journal
Duke University’s Catholic Center held Mass in a campus parking garage after the pandemic made indoor worship unsafe. A masked participant kneeled on a cement floor during a September service. Photo by Henry Haggart I The 9th Street Journal
Durham public schools offered online instruction only this fall, with most students signing in from home. Several learning centers have popped up since then. Angela Caraway worked with a student at one, Kate’s Korner, in November. Photo by Henry Haggart I The 9th Street Journal
At a September event intended to strengthen ties between city residents and police,  Sgt. Daryl Macaluso throws a football to a kid at the Hoover Road community. Photo by Henry Haggart I The 9th Street Journal
The pandemic brought countless challenges to poll workers during voting this fall. One worker wore double protection while manning a vote tabulator at South Durham Regional Library. Photo by Henry Haggart | The 9th Street Journal
Hundreds of people marched in Durham on Nov. 5, demanding that all ballots cast in that week’s elections be counted. Photo by Henry Haggart | The 9th Street Journal