2025 was a year colored by tragedy, resilience and joy.

We marked the 10th anniversary of the death of Freddie Gray; the 150th year of the Preakness, held at Pimlico Race Course for the last time before demolition; historic flooding in Westernport; and mass overdoses in Baltimore’s Penn North neighborhood.

Our photojournalists — both staff and freelance — followed the journey of blue crabs from the Gulf shores of Louisiana to Maryland dinner plates, and students trying to navigate hourslong commutes to get to school. With a new presidential administration, we saw the rise in ICE-led detentions in immigrant communities, and told the stories of families torn apart by deportation.

We also saw communities come together — celebrating graduations and family traditions, feeding neighbors when benefits dried up, showing up to protest, coming together to revel in art, music, and culture, and finding ways to support each other through even the worst times.

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There were so many moments that made us proud to be a part of this community, both here in Baltimore and throughout the state. Here are a few of our favorites.

Adama Bangura, 42, and her husband, Kasim Deen, 47, wait in line with their 4-year-old son to collect food during a weekly distribution event at Hughes United Methodist Church on Tuesday, Aug. 5, 2025, in Montgomery County, Md. Recent ICE raids on a food pantry and local businesses have sparked fear among immigrant communities throughout the county.
Adama Bangura, center, and her husband, Kasim Deen, right, wait in line with their 4-year-old son to collect food from Hughes United Methodist Church in August. The pantry in Wheaton is one of several in the area that have made it a public mission to feed their community, regardless of citizenship status. (Valerie Plesch for The Banner)
Jackson Hoang, 19, holds up a laptop to a crowd showing his mother, Mong “Melissa” Tuyen Thi Tran, on a video call from an ICE detention center. The local community organized a fundraising and action meeting to help bring Melissa back.
Jackson Hoang, 19, joined by his father and siblings, holds a laptop to a crowd outside the family's nail salon in Hagerstown so his mother, Mong “Melissa” Tuyen Thi Tran, on video from an ICE detention center in Tacoma, Wash., can see all the people who showed up to support their family. (Rosem Morton for The Banner)
August 25, 2025 — Kilmar Abrego Garcia, center, and his wife, Jennifer, walk into the George H. Fallon Federal Building in downtown Baltimore on Monday, August 25, 2025.
Kilmar Ábrego García, center, and his wife, Jennifer Vasquez Sura, walk into the George H. Fallon Federal Building in downtown Baltimore for a check-in with ICE, where he was taken back into custody. (Jerry Jackson/The Banner)
Levar Mullen calls out, “Fruit man, fruit man!,” as he leads the funeral procession down Pennsylvania Avenue for Bilal “BJ” Abdullah, the beloved arabber fatally shot by Baltimore Police this week.
Levar Mullen calls out “Fruit man, fruit man!” as he leads the funeral procession down Pennsylvania Avenue for Bilal “BJ” Abdullah, the beloved arabber fatally shot by Baltimore Police. (Jerry Jackson/The Banner)
Professional skateboarder Spencer Brown jumps on the upper part of the arch on Howard Street Bridge. Baltimore City, Md.
Professional skateboarder Spencer Brown skates the arch of the Howard Street Bridge in Baltimore. (Florence Shen/The Banner)
Baltimore Fire Department crews respond to a fire at West 34th Street and Keswick Road in Baltimore's Hampden neighborhood on Monday, November 10, 2025.
First responders at a fire at a large building known as “The Castle” on the 3300 block of Keswick Road in Baltimore's Hampden neighborhood. (Wesley Lapointe for The Banner)
Horses, jockeys and patrons gather on the race course at Pimlico ahead of the first race of the day during the 150th Preakness on May 17, 2025. (double exposure in-camera)
A double-exposure as horses, jockeys and patrons gather on the track at Pimlico ahead of the first race of the day during the 150th Preakness. (Kaitlin Newman/The Banner)
Dwayne Watkins flips off a log in the Peace Park, while Noah Duncan watches in the Collins Streamside Community of Southwest Baltimore, MD on Thursday, Dec. 5, 2024.
Dwayne Watkins flips off a log in the Peace Park while Noah Duncan watches. For 30 years, Collins Streamside has been building this intentional community. It’s a place where children can play in almost anyone’s yard and are taken care of by a village of neighbors. (Wesley Lapointe for The Banner)
Kim Ross and her daughter, Arielle, 11, leave Towson University after Arielle’s dress rehearsal for the Morton Street Dance Center on May 28, 2025.
Kim Ross, right, and her daughter Arielle Greene leave Towson University after Arielle’s dress rehearsal for the Morton Street Dance Center. For the past decade, Arielle has been watching her mother ascend the ranks of leadership, from Democratic Central Committee member to the first Black female delegate representing her East Side district. (Rosem Morton for The Banner)
Jeanie Ferretti with the Speaker’s Office celebrates in the House Chamber at the Maryland State House on Sine Die in Annapolis, Md. on Monday, April 7, 2025.
Jeanie Ferretti celebrates in the House chamber at the Maryland State House on Sine Die in Annapolis. (Ulysses Muñoz/The Banner)
Igor Antonovich Bozhko poses for a portrait in the studio he shares with his son Sergey Igorevich Bozhko, in Odesa, Ukraine, on February 24, 2025.
Igor Antonovich Bozhko in the studio he shares with his son in Odesa, Ukraine. Since 1975, Baltimore has been a Sister City to Odesa, Ukraine’s second-largest city and its largest seaport, as part of a program to pair international communities and promote peace through arts and culture. (Caroline Gutman for The Banner)
An excavator pulls smoldering debris from a metal recycling facility in Dundalk where a fire burned over the weekend and rekindled Thursday.
An excavator pulls smoldering debris from a metal recycling facility in Dundalk in January. A three-alarm fire caused a partial building collapse and led to road closures in the area. (Jerry Jackson/The Banner)
Rahel Ambaye and Julia Cruz practice ahead of their flag football match between Seneca Valley High School and Clarksburg High School at Clarksburg High School in Clarksburg, Maryland, U.S., Oct. 15, 2025.
Clarksburg High School’s Rahel Ambaye and Julia Cruz practice ahead of a flag football matchup against Seneca Valley High School. (Leah Millis for The Banner)
Michael Strassner and Jay Duplass co-wrote the romantic comedy "The Baltimorons." The partnership began years before, when Duplass stumbled upon Strassner’s Instagram account and followed the up-and-coming improv actor. (Gabriella Angotti-Jones for The Banner)
Brooke Bourne, a senior at Western High School, has quite the journey home from school. She takes a bus and the subway to get home on a foggy December day. Each form of transit has nine stops.
It takes Brooke Bourne, a senior at Western High School, more than 90 minutes to get home from school each day on public transit, a distance that takes just 17 minutes by car. (Kaitlin Newman/The Banner)
The Claibornes enjoy ice cream all together at The Cow in Reisterstown, Md. on July 1, 2025. The family, who is local to the area, said that it is their second time coming.
The Claiborne family enjoys ice cream together during their second visit to The Cow in Reisterstown. (Florence Shen/The Banner)
Crane barges are seen at the Francis Scott Key Bridge site at sunrise as test piles are installed into the Patapsco River bed to test the strength and stability for the new bridge's foundation.
Crane barges are seen at the Francis Scott Key Bridge site at sunrise as test piles are installed into the Patapsco River bed to test the strength and stability for the new bridge's foundation. (Jerry Jackson/The Banner)
Demonstrators hold signs during a weekly sign-waving protest in opposition to President Donald Trump, billionaire Elon Musk and the DOGE federal workforce cuts on the Gorman Road I-95 overpass in Laurel, MD on Friday, April 4, 2025.
Demonstrators hold signs during a weekly protest in opposition to President Donald Trump, billionaire Elon Musk and the DOGE federal workforce cuts on the Gorman Road I-95 overpass in Laurel. (Wesley Lapointe for The Banner)
Left to right, Azarielle Jordan, Dylan Dyson, and Madisyn Montgomery practice their dances for Sister Delphine Okoro's Rite of Perpetual Profession at Our Lady of Mount Providence Convent in Arbutus, MD, Thursday, August 14, 2025.
From left, Azarielle Jordan, Dylan Dyson and Madisyn Montgomery from the Cardinal Shehan School practice their dances for a ceremony to mark Sister Delphine Okoro's final vow, a lifelong commitment to chastity, poverty and obedience, and official inclusion into the Oblate Sisters of Providence in Arbutus. (Jessica Gallagher/The Banner)
Antonio Pennix holding his son Avion Pennix and Avi Pennix for a portrait after his commencement ceremony at the University of Maryland, Baltimore, on Friday, September 19, 2025. Pennix was among 50 graduates from the Excel Center — a free high school for adult learners in Maryland — there to receive their diplomas.
Antonio Pennix holds his sons Avion and Avi after his commencement ceremony at the University of Maryland, Baltimore. Pennix was one of more than 50 graduates from the Excel Center, a free adult high school for Maryland students. (Jessica Gallagher/The Banner)
Gavin Lake, 11, with the New Baltimore Christian Warriors, takes a break while marching to McKeldin Plaza from Camden Yards on May 1, 2025. Protesters demanded the administration Stop the Billionaire Takeover and defend unions, social security, health care, and public services.
Gavin Lake, 11, with the New Baltimore Christian Warriors, takes a break from marching as thousands of protesters hit Baltimore’s streets for May Day rallies and marches. (Jessica Gallagher/The Banner)
Aaron Fitzgerald wades through the flooded parking lot of Westernport Elementary School to retrieve belongings from his mother waterlogged car after a catastrophic storm hit the area on Tuesday.
Aaron Fitzgerald wades through the flooded parking lot of Westernport Elementary School to retrieve belongings from his mother's waterlogged car after a catastrophic storm hit the area. (Jerry Jackson/The Banner)
A pedestrian stands by while a three-alarm fire blazes at a commercial building in Remington, in Baltimore, MD on Friday, Nov. 7, 2025.
A pedestrian, wearing a respirator, stands in the street while the fire blazes at a commercial building in Remington. (Wesley Lapointe for The Banner)
Maryland State Park Service Superintendent Angela Crenshaw pays respect at a headstone during a tour Patuxent River Park in Montgomery County on August 7, 2025. The state of Maryland is currently working on a project for Freedmen’s State Park, to tell the story of Enoch George Howard, his family and, more broadly, enslaved Marylanders.
The Maryland Park Service is developing Freedman’s State Historical Park to tell the story of Enoch George Howard, his family and the Black community he nurtured. “The Howard family in one generation experienced the full arc of the African American experience,” said Maryland State Park Service Superintendent Angela Crenshaw, at the gravestones for Enoch George and Harriet Howard. (Michael A. McCoy for The Banner)
Baltimore Ravens safety Kyle Hamilton (14) forces Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams (18) to intentionally ground the ball during a pass attempt in the second quarter of a game at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore, Md., on Sunday, Oct. 26, 2025.
Baltimore Ravens safety Kyle Hamilton forces Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams to intentionally ground the ball during a pass attempt. (Ulysses Muñoz/The Banner)
Tamea Cobb poses for a portrait at the 50th annual Baltimore Pride Parade in the Charles Village neighborhood of Baltimore on June 14, 2025.
Tamea Cobb poses for a portrait at the 50th annual Baltimore Pride Parade in Baltimore's Charles Village neighborhood. (Florence Shen/The Banner)
Baltimore City Police Commissioner Richard Worley hands a bat to a teammate before playing in an over 40 league, at Harford Sports Complex in Bel Air, MD on Sunday, June 22, 2025.
Baltimore City Police Commissioner Richard Worley hands a bat to a teammate before playing in an over-40 league at the Harford Sports Complex in Bel Air. (Wesley Lapointe for The Banner)
Left to right, Clarence Coleman, Leonard “Bo” White, and Darrell F. hang out next to Big O’s Hand Car Wash, in Baltimore, Friday, August 8, 2025.
From left, Dana Evans, Clarence Coleman, Leonard White, and Darrell F. hang out in front of a vacant property next to a car wash in the Penn North neighborhood, where Matthew Williams died of an overdose in October. (Jessica Gallagher/The Banner)
N. worked on Tucker in 2016 at Studio 921 in Locust Point which in now closed. Photographed on Friday, January 24, 2025.
N., a massage therapist, said she ended a massage and ran out of the room after inappropriate behavior by Justin Tucker in 2016 at Locust Point’s Studio 921, which is now closed. (Jessica Gallagher/The Banner)
Rin Tho loads a truck filled with crabs that is headed to the Pomes picking plant in Alabama at Pomes Seafood facility in New Orleans. Pomes started running his own trucks to Baltimore in 2017 and now delivers about 8,000 bushels of live crabs weekly to Maryland markets.
Rin Tho, center, helps load crab trucks at the Pomes Seafood warehouse in New Orleans, destined for processing in Alabama. Louisiana supplies more blue crabs nationally than any other state. (Kathleen Flynn for The Banner)
Orion Larca hugs a smaller version of a highway marker dedicated to his grandmother Wendi Winters, while his mother Winters Larca, Wendi's daughter, stands behind him on September 22, 2025. "The Capital Gazette Five" are victims of a deadly shooting on the The Capital Gazette in 2018. Winters was a photojournalist who was killed saving the lives of her colleagues.
Orion Larca hugs a small version of a highway marker dedicated to his grandmother, Wendi Winters, during a ceremony to dedicate Rowe Boulevard to the legacy of five members of the Capital Gazette newsroom who were killed in 2018. (Kaitlin Newman/The Banner)
Former Maryland Terrapins head coach Gary Williams, right, hands the MVP game ball to Maryland Terrapins forward Pharrel Payne (21) after an NCAA basketball game against the Coppin State Eagles, Monday, November 3, 2025, at CFG Bank Arena.
Former Maryland Terrapins head coach Gary Williams, right, hands the MVP game ball to Maryland Terrapins forward Pharrel Payne after an NCAA basketball game against the Coppin State Eagles. (Terrance Williams for The Banner)
DECEMBER 4: Monique Polley plays with toy dinosaurs with her daughter, Aniyah, 4, in her mother’s home, in Baltimore, MD on Thursday, Dec. 4, 2025.
Monique Polley and her daughter, Aniyah, 4. Baltimore Police arrested Polley in April after a man purporting to be her brother alleged that she attacked him and his loved ones. In Maryland, people can be arrested, thrown in jail and forced to defend themselves against criminal charges without input from police or prosecutors through a law that allows a District Court commissioner to bring charges instead. (Wesley Lapointe for The Banner)
Jason Hagan, 8, of Baltimore swings at Federal Hill Park as snow begins to fall, Tuesday, February 11, 2025.
Jason Hagan, 8, swings in the snow at Federal Hill Park. (Jessica Gallagher/The Banner)
The Looks Much Better Now mural is seen on 22nd Street early February, 12, 2025, following a snowstorm that started the previous evening.
The Looks Much Better Now mural beams bright following a snowstorm in February. (Jerry Jackson/The Banner)