2020 was defined by the challenges faced both worldwide and in our own cities and towns. Amidst the backdrop of the Covid-19 pandemic, Portland saw an unprecedented succession of protests, both large and small, peaceful and riotous, resulting from the killing of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer in May. Late in the summer, the city along with much of the west coast dealt with the fallout of ever-worsening forest fires. Rural families were forced to flee their homes, while the skies across much of the state were choked with smoke for nearly two weeks.
But with these challenges came hope and optimism. People found ways to adapt to the new “normal” and continue on with their lives and passions as best they could.
SINGLES
Westview High School cheerleader Samantha Kadera hugs a teammate while celebrating a first place victory in the COED Small division of the OSAA 2020 Cheerleading State Championships on February 15th. The event proved to be one of the last indoor mass gatherings in Oregon before the spread of the Covid-19 coronavirus.
A family enjoys a rare March snow day with sleds at Council Crest Park. The half-inch of powder was only the sixth time in fifty years that Portland received a measurable amount of snow.
Staring intently at his progress on a computer screen, Ironman Bob Jordan trains hours everyday on a bike in his small garage. After his daughter Emily passed away from leukemia in 1997, he along his wife Terry have intertwined Bob’s races with fundraising, raising hundreds of thousands of dollars over the years for the Leukemia Society and other charities.
Seen through their dining room window, the Williams family celebrates Passover with a Seder dinner amongst their virtual congregation from Temple Beit Haverim in Lake Oswego, via a live feed on a laptop computer. Families were forced to change the way they celebrated their faith in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic.
As wildfires gripped much of the West Coast, a boater slowly makes his way up the Willamette River near downtown Portland. 2020 resulted in one of the most destructive forest fire seasons on record for Oregon, with over one million acres burned.
Rosarian Doug Zimmerman waves to First Squire Stephen Bown during the 2020 Rose Festival Porch Parade. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, The Portland Rose Festival had to cancel the traditional Grand Floral Parade, substituting it with a traveling caravan of cars full of local VIPs.
Linda Rardin and James Wood take shelter on cots in the gymnasium of Clackamas Community College. The two were forced out of their Clackamas County home after wildfire evacuations were declared for multiple communities in the metro area.
A mother tries to hold the attention of both her sons while signaling to a passing Black Lives Matter march near the Lloyd Center in Portland on August 28th.
Portlanders celebrate in downtown Portland on Nov. 7th after Joe Biden was declared the next President of the United States by all major news outlets.
Firefighting crews in Clackamas County work to put out one of many local wildfires that began after a windstorm on September 8th.
2020 - PORTLAND’S SUMMER OF PROTEST
Thousands march across the Morrison Bridge during an early June Black Lives Matter protest. Demonstrations occurred around the Portland metro area after the killing of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer, then continued throughout the year.
A lone independent journalist stands and films between protesters and police after an attempt to push crowds away from Portland's Justice Center. Demonstrations occurred around the Portland metro area after the killing of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer, then continued throughout the year.
An anti-federal government protester waves an American flag by a large bonfire near the Mark O. Hatfield United States Courthouse in Portland. Demonstrations in the city began after the killing of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer continued throughout the year, but were exacerbated in July after President Trump sent additional law enforcement agents to guard the federal property.
A Black Lives Matter protest runs through a cloud of tear gas from a federal law enforcement agent peppers the crowd with rubber bullets. Demonstrations in Portland that began after the killing of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer continued throughout the year, but were exacerbated in July after President Trump sent additional law enforcement agents to guard the federal property.
A group of racial justice activists, anti-fascists, and anti-federal protesters form a shield line on SW Salmon Street in Portland, OR as federal law enforcement agents deploy rounds of tear gas, flash-bangs and other less-lethal munitions near the federal courthouse. Portland protests that began after the killing of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer continued throughout the year, but were exacerbated in July after President Trump sent additional Border Patrol agents and U.S. Marshals to guard the courthouse.
Hundreds march by the George Floyd mural at the downtown Portland Apple Store during an anti-Fed July protest. Demonstrations in Portland that began after the killing of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer continued throughout the year, but were exacerbated in July after President Trump sent additional law enforcement agents to guard the the Mark O. Hatfield United States Courthouse.
A lone protester makes his way across SE Main Street as federal law enforcement deploy tear gas at Lownsdale Square. Demonstrations in Portland that began after the killing of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer continued throughout the year, but were exacerbated in July after President Trump sent additional law enforcement agents to guard the federal property.
An independent journalist watches as a deployed flash bang explodes through a cloud of tear gas in front of the Mark O. Hatfield U.S. Courthouse, as protesters attempt to block the visibility of federal law enforcement by covering the fence and aiming handheld lasers.
Right-wing protesters charge Black Lives Matter activists during a September face-off in front of the Justice Center.
Trump supporters and Black Lives Matter activists yell at each other as police stand by during an August 29th right-wing car rally that travelled through the heart of Portland, Oregon. Spillover from the day’s protests resulted in that night’s shooting death of Aaron Danielson, a supporter of a local far-right group, Patriot Prayer.