2019 - Year in Pictures

People protest a government ban on face masks in Central on October 4 in Hong Kong, China. Pro-democracy protesters in Hong Kong continue to call for an independent inquiry into police brutality, democratic elections for Hong Kong’s leader and legislature, and the retraction of the word riot to describe the rallies, as the territory faces a leadership crisis after six months of unrest. (Photo by Laurel Chor/Getty Images)

Give These Photos A Listen

It’s the time of year when newsrooms comb through thousands of photos to find a few dozen to represent the year in pictures.

This has always been an impossible task, perhaps never more so than in a year marked by national and international political upheaval, ever-rising concern about the planet’s future, and social unrest in nearly every corner of the world. No set of photos can capture the full range of stories that held our attention and shaped the year, and inevitably, as many important stories are excluded as included.

This year we would like to highlight another aspect of inclusion — the need for photo essays (and all photos) to be more accessible to those who can’t see. So, we've partnered with GBH’s National Center for Accessible Media to present you with a more accessible “Year in Pictures.”

Each photo below is accompanied by both a caption and an audio description. While the caption identifies the date, subject and photographer, the audio description puts into words the key visual elements of each photo for people who are blind or have low vision. In addition, a text transcript of each image description is also available for people who are deaf or hard of hearing.

These 25 images represent only a small fraction of the important stories of 2019, but we hope more of you will now have a richer experience engaging with them. Please have a look, a read, and a listen.

— Meredith Nierman, Director of Photography

Find more information about descriptive audio and screen readers and see a list of credits.

Image 1: Brazilian President Bolsanaro rides in inaugural parade.

Flanked by First Lady Michelle Bolsonaro, Brazil's President Jair Bolsonaro waves as he rides in an open car after his swearing-in ceremony, in Brasilia, Brazil on January 1. Bolsonaro was one among a wave of far-right conservative leaders elected recently in Latin America, including in Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Paraguay and Peru. (Andre Penner/AP)

January 1, 2019

0:22

On a wide street, President Jair Bolsonaro stands in the back of the black convertible, his wife at his side, waving to the crowd. Surrounding them is a procession of mounted troops in white uniforms riding white horses. Many of the soldiers wear red epaulettes and helmet plumes while holding aloft red and white flags. Four security agents in black business suits run alongside the president’s car.

Image 3: President Trump Chinese Premier He Meeting

U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a meeting with Chinese Vice Premier Liu He (L), in the Oval Office at the White House on January 31, 2019 in Washington, DC. U.S.-China top trade officials have finished two days of face-to-face trade talks to end a months-long trade war between the world's two largest economies. (Photo by Mark Wilson/Getty Images)

January 31, 2019

0:15

In the Oval Office, Vice Premier Liu He sits flanked by aides and surrounded by photographers. He raises a hand and gestures as he speaks. Sitting opposite him, President Trump thrusts his right arm across the gleaming wooden desk and points his index finger.

Image 2: State of the Union

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) and other lawmakers cheer during President Donald Trump's State of the Union address in the chamber of the U.S. House of Representatives at the U.S. Capitol Building on February 5 in Washington, D.C. A group of female Democratic lawmakers wore white to the speech to honor the record 117 women who were elected to Congress that year, and as a nod to the suffragette movement. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)

February 5, 2019

0:16

A dozen or more female lawmakers, each dressed in white suits and jackets, stand in the celebration, sharing smiles, clapping and cheering. One woman lifts both arms above her head as Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and a colleague share a double high-five.

Image 4: Border Crossings

Two-year-old William Josue Gonzales Garcia, traveling with his parents, waits with other families who crossed the nearby U.S.-Mexico border near McAllen, Texas, for U.S. Customs and Border Patrol agents to check their names and documents on March 14. A surge of Central American families crossed the border over the first half of the year, leading to reports of overcrowding and poor conditions in detention facilities along the border. (Eric Gay/AP)

March 14, 2019

0:18

On a dirt road, a border agent in a green uniform takes notes as families stand in a line. A little boy stands behind the Border Patrol’s spotless white pickup truck. The boy, dressed in a yellow t-shirt and shorts, is barely as tall as the truck’s bumper. He turns his face away from the group and cries.

Image 5 Ethiopian Airlines Crash

On March 14, relatives of crash victims grieve at the scene four days after an Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 737 Max 8 aircraft crashed shortly after takeoff, killing all 157 people on board, near Bishoftu, Ethiopia. The October prior, 189 people died when the same kind of Boeing aircraft crashed in Indonesia. (Mulugeta Ayene/AP Photo)

March 14, 2019

0:10

Women in black garments walk across charred ground. One woman, having dropped to her knees, lifts her face as she cries, her shoulders hunched forward in anguish.

Image 6 First Image of a Black Hole

The first image of a black hole, captured by the Event Horizon Telescope of the National Science Foundation, was released on April 10. The black hole is at the center of galaxy M87, a supergiant elliptical galaxy in the constellation Virgo, and is outlined by emission from hot gas swirling around it under the influence of strong gravity near its event horizon. A network of eight radio observatories on six mountains and four continents, the EHT observed the black hole on and off for 10 days in April 2017 to make the image. (Photo by National Science Foundation via Getty Images)

April 10, 2019

0:10

Against the backdrop of black space, the black hole appears as a thick orange ring with an empty center, like a glowing donut, with areas of brighter yellow and darker orange.

Image 7 Venezuelan Opposition Leader at Rally

Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaidó speaks to supporters in Caracas on May 1. Thousands gathered to demand President Nicolas Maduro's ouster as part of the nation's struggle between a widely detested socialist government and an opposition backed by powerful allies like the United States but unable to secure the loyalty of key factions, like the military. (Fernando Llano/AP Photo)

May 1, 2019

0:16

At a street rally, Politician Juan Guaidó stands on a platform dressed in black pants and a white shirt. He raises his right arm above his head, his hand clenched in a fist. A man in the crowd joins others and matches Guaidó’s raised fist.

Felicty Huffman

Actress Felicity Huffman, center, gets into a vehicle followed by her brother, Moore Huffman Jr., outside federal court in Boston, where she pleaded guilty to charges in a nationwide college admissions bribery scandal on May 13. Huffman served 11 days in prison in October after paying $15,000 in a scheme to boost her college-bound daughter’s SAT scores. (Steven Senne/AP Photo)

May 13, 2019

0:18

Beneath a street sign for Courthouse Avenue, a crowd presses in around actress Felicity Huffman as she approaches a car’s open door. Dressed in white, Huffman lowers her face and touches her blond hair. Two police officers keep back reporters as they reach toward Huffman with microphones, video cameras, and phones.

Robert Mueller

Special Counsel Robert Mueller walks from the podium after speaking at the Department of Justice in Washington on May 29. Mueller, who led the two-year-long federal investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election, declared after finishing his report that he could not exonerate nor charge President Donald Trump with obstruction of justice. (Carolyn Kaster/AP Photo)

May 29, 2019

0:15

Special Counsel Robert Mueller, a grey-haired man with a slight stoop and dressed in a black suit, walks away from the podium, his hands gripping a folder of papers. Behind him, a Department of Justice emblem hangs between the U.S. flag and the flag of the Department of Justice.

The USA celebrates victory at the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup in France. Will they repeat their success for a third time?

Megan Rapinoe of the United States women’s national soccer team lifts a trophy after the team won the Women's World Cup final soccer match at the Stade de Lyon in Decines, France on July 7. It was the fourth World Cup victory for the U.S. women’s soccer team. (Alessandra Tarantino/AP Photo)

July 7, 2019

4:24

As confetti falls around them, the U.S. women’s team cheer and raise their arms in victory. Wearing white jerseys and gold medals, they surround Megan Rapinoe who holds aloft a golden trophy.

Image 11 Jeffrey Epstein Appears In Manhattan Federal Court On Sex Trafficking Charges

A protester holds up a sign of financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein in front of the New York City federal courthouse on July 8. Epstein died by suicide in August while in prison awaiting trial on one count of sex trafficking of minors and one count of conspiracy to engage in sex trafficking of minors. (Photo by Stephanie Keith/Getty Images)

July 8, 2019

0:13

Standing on the sidewalk outside the courthouse, the protester, a teenaged girl in a denim jacket, gazes with a solemn expression. She holds above her head a large photo of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, a middle-aged man with greying hair.

Mourners gathered at memorial crosses near the scene of a mass shooting at an El Paso Walmart on Aug. 3

Gloria Garces kneels in front of crosses at a makeshift memorial near the scene of a mass shooting at a Walmart store in El Paso, Texas on August 6. Three days earlier, a gunman shot and killed 22 people and injured 24 others in the store. (John Locher/AP Photo)

August 6, 2019

0:18

Assembled in layers on the dark pavement, the memorial includes dozens of white crosses, votive candles, flower bouquets, American flags, and red heart balloons. At the edge of the memorial, Gloria Garces crouches and clutches her forehead as her long brown hair covers her face.

Image 13 Toni Morrison Dies at Age 88

Visitors look at a portrait of Nobel laureate Toni Morrison, painted by the artist Robert McCurdy, at the National Portrait Gallery in Washington on August 6. Morrison, who died the day before at age 88, was the first African-American woman to win the Nobel Prize in Literature. She was also awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and the Presidential Medal of Freedom. (Patrick Semansky/AP Photo)

August 6, 2019

0:19

In the gallery, three visitors gather around the portrait which resembles a larger-than-life photograph of Toni Morrison. Posed against a white background, Morrison stands tall, her long braids gathered behind her head and dressed in a grey cardigan over a dark dress. She appears to have a watchful expression, her lips closed, her gaze focused ahead.

Image 14 German Chancellor Angela Merkel welcomes Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson

German Chancellor Angela Merkel welcomes Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson with military honors for a meeting at the Chancellery in Berlin, Germany on August 21. Johnson became prime minister after Theresa May’s resignation in July and took up the helm of navigating Great Britain through Brexit, the country’s departure from the European Union. (Michael Sohn/AP Photo)

August 21, 2019

0:17

During the ceremony, the two leaders sit alone, shoulder to shoulder on a small platform. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson gazes away from us, his open palms resting on his legs. German Chancellor Angela Merkel turns back over her shoulder with a fierce stare, her hands clasped in her lap.

Image 15 Parapan American Games Lima 2019 Opening Ceremony

Artists dance La Marinera during the opening ceremony of Parapan American Games Lima 2019 at Estadio Nacional de Lima on August 23 in Lima, Peru. More than 1,800 athletes competed in 17 sports, making it the largest Parapan American Games since they were first held in 1999. (Photo by Leonardo Fernandez/Getty Images)

August 23, 2019

0:21

Two dancers face each other. On the left, a woman grips the pleats of her deep green embroidered dress as she steps, the flowing material accentuating her movement. She flashes a smile at her partner, a man in a white tuxedo, seated in a wheelchair. He leans forward and raises his broad-brimmed white hat toward her.

Image 16 Hurricane Dorian Damage

Homes flattened by Hurricane Dorian are seen in Abaco, Bahamas on September 5. More than 60 people have been counted on the official death toll in the months since the hurricane, and hundreds of people remain missing. The hurricane caused an estimated $3.4 billion in damages. (Gonzalo Gaudenzi/AP Photo)

September 5, 2019

0:14

An aerial view shows a neighborhood of destroyed wooden buildings, torn to pieces and jumbled in haphazard drifts of plywood, sticks of lumber, roofing and other debris. Amongst the ruins, a few walls still stand, recognizable with empty spaces for windows and doors.

Image 17 Climate Activist Greta Thunberg addresses the Climate Action Summit at the United Nations General Assembly

Sixteen-year-old environmental activist Greta Thunberg, of Sweden, addresses the Climate Action Summit in the United Nations General Assembly, at U.N. headquarters on September 23. “This is all wrong,” Thunberg told world leaders during her speech. “I shouldn't be up here. I should be back in school on the other side of the ocean. Yet you all come to us young people for hope. How dare you. You have stolen my dreams and my childhood with your empty words.” (Jason DeCrow/AP Photo)

September 23, 2019

0:14

Climate activist Greta Thunberg, a slight teenager with a single long braid draped over the shoulder of her fuchsia dress, grits her teeth as she speaks into a microphone, her eyes narrowed in a fierce glare, and her right index finger pointed for emphasis.

People protest a government ban on face masks in Central on October 4 in Hong Kong, China. Pro-democracy protesters in Hong Kong continue to call for an independent inquiry into police brutality, democratic elections for Hong Kong’s leader and legislature, and the retraction of the word riot to describe the rallies, as the territory faces a leadership crisis after six months of unrest. (Laurel Chor/Getty Images)

October 4, 2019

0:22

In the middle of a city street, a woman stands backed by a large crowd of protesters, many wearing surgical masks and dressed in white or black shirts. The woman in the front also wears a surgical mask and a white t-shirt, with a handbag slung on her left shoulder. The woman uses her left arm to prop up her right arm which she keeps raised high above her head, her intense gaze focused on something above her.

Image 19: US Withdrawal from Syrian Border

Turkey's forces advance towards Manbij, Syria on October 14. After President Donald Trump’s October 9 order to withdraw American troops from northern Syria, Turkish forces invaded the region, killing at least 23 Kurdish fighters, before a ceasefire was declared on October 23. Trump faced a bipartisan condemnation for what many called his abandonment of the Kurds, who are American allies in the fight against the Islamic State. (Ugur Can/DHA via AP)

October 14, 2019

0:17

Image 20 Democratic Presidental Debate

Nine Democratic presidential candidates are pictured onstage during the fourth primary debate, which took place at Otterbein University in Westerville, Ohio on October 15. Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren was largely viewed by analysts as the winner of the debate, faring well from multiple attacks from other candidates, and the most-discussed topic of the night was health care. (John Minchillo/AP Photo)

October 15, 2019

0:26

On a wide stage, nine presidential candidates, six men and three women, each stand behind a glowing blue podium. Some raise their hands while others gaze down at their notes. Behind them, red, white, and blue electronic signs show the CNN and New York Times logos and announce Democratic Presidential Debate. High above the candidates, hangs an illuminated ring of stars.

Image 21 Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi stands and speaks to President Donald Trump in the Cabinet Room

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi stands and speaks to President Donald Trump during a meeting with Congressional leadership in the Cabinet Room of the White House in Washington on October 16. Pelosi and Trump had a contentious relationship, as illustrated in this meeting, during which Pelosi reportedly told the president that “all roads with you lead to Putin.” (Official White House Photo by Shealah Craighead via AP)

October 16, 2019

0:16

In the Cabinet room, government leaders sit elbow-to-elbow at a massive oval table, each place set with a name placard, water glass, and notepad. Toward the center of the table, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, one of the few women in the room, stands up and points her index finger across the table at President Trump.

Image 22 All Female Spacewalk

U.S. Astronauts Jessica Meir, left, and Christina Koch pose for a photo in the International Space Station. The two women made history on October 18 for participating in the first all-female spacewalk, venturing outside the ISS for seven hours and 17 minutes to replace a power controller. (NASA via AP)

October 18, 2019

0:19

In the space station, the two grinning astronauts share an embrace, their smiling faces turned toward us. U.S. astronauts Jessica Meir and Christina Koch still wear the bottom halves of their bulky spacesuits with lightweight jumpsuits above. In the cramped chamber, the astronauts are surrounded by tubes, harnesses, and gear.

Image 23 Representative Elijah Cummings Funeral Services

During a memorial service for Rep. Elijah Cummings at the U.S. Capitol Hill in Washington on October 24, the congressman’s wife, Maya Rockeymoore Cummings, stands in front of his casket. The Maryland congressman and civil rights champion died on October 17 at age 68 from complications from long-standing health issues. (Melina Mara/Pool via AP)

October 17, 2019

0:16

During the service, Maya Rockeymoore Cummings stands before the flag draped coffin, in a crimson dress, her gaze turned downward. Surrounding her are politicians and mourners of many races dressed in black, some wearing black stoles with prominent green, red, and golden stripes.

Image 24 Washington Nationals Win World Series

Washington Nationals third baseman Anthony Rendon and Adam Eaton celebrate their World Series win in the locker room after Game 7 against the Houston Astros on October 30 in Houston. It was the Nationals’ first World Series win. (David J. Phillip/AP Photo)

October 30, 2019

0:15

The players celebrate in a deluge of champagne. Wearing ski goggles in the foaming spray, Adam Eaton grips the World Series trophy, which is topped with a ring of golden flagpoles. Beside him, Anthony Rendon screams and raises his muscular, tattooed arms.

Image 25 House Intelligence Committee Holds Open Impeachment Hearings

House Intelligence Committee Chairman Rep. Adam Schiff (left) listens next to ranking member Rep. Devin Nunes at a House Intelligence Committee hearing featuring witness U.S. Ambassador to the European Union Gordon Sondland on Capitol Hill on November 20. The committee heard testimony during the fourth day of open hearings in the impeachment inquiry against President Donald Trump, which was launched by Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi in September after an anonymous whistleblower alleged that Trump levied foreign aid against the Ukrainian president in exchange for the country agreeing to investigate his political rival, former Vice President Joe Biden. (Photo by Yara Nardi - Pool/Getty Images)

November 20, 2019

0:20

Seated beside each other in large leather chairs, the two congressmen stare ahead of them with intense focus. Rep. Adam Schiff sits upright, his lips pressed together. Rep. Devin Nunes leans forward, his brow furrowed, and his hands clasped at his chin.

Credits

For WGBH News:
Meredith Nierman: Feature Producer and Photo Editor Kaitlyn Locke: Captions Editor
Tori Bedford, Esteban Bustillos, Arun Rath, Cristina Quinn and Saraya Wintersmith: Audio Narration

For WGBH Digital:
Tim Kinnel: Developer
Andrea Wolanin: Senior Project Manager
Gene Yoon: Design Director

For WGBH's National Center for Accessible Media:
Bryan Gould, Claire Houston and Madeleine Rothberg: Audio Descriptions, Accessibility Consulting.

To learn more about descriptive audio:
The Described and Captioned Media Project
WGBH Accessibility

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