This was a jolt of a year for Seattle and the region.
Mayor Ed Murray initially denied allegations of sex abuse, but later resigned from his position creating chaos within Seattle’s political system. Seattle Police shot and killed Charleena Lyles and our community mourned her loss, as well when a young Vietnamese man, Tommy Le, was killed by King County Sheriff deputies in the nearby suburb of Burien. More than a hundred thousand people marched in the streets of Seattle and standing up for women’s rights, in the days after President Trump was inaugurated into office as the 45th president of the United States. Beyond some of the striking moments of resistance and civil unrest in the region, the universe also delivered some gifts of its awe-inspiring beauty, reminding us how breathtaking our world can sometimes be.
Experience some of our most notable and favorite moments of the year, from Crosscut’s staff photographer Matt M. McKnight and our team of freelance photographers.
Visitors at SolarTown Festival watch the totality phase of a total solar eclipse in Madras, Ore., Aug. 21, 2017. (Matt M. McKnight/Crosscut)
Jade Solomon Curtis rehearses Black Like Me: An Exploration of the N-Wordat Spectrum Dance Theatre in Seattle. (Matt M. McKnight/Crosscut)
Renee McCoy of Seattle walks down 2nd Avenue in Seattle during a counter-protest to a Freedom Rally that occurred at Westlake Park, Aug. 13, 2017. “Love joins and hate divides,” said McCoy, who helped carry a giant replica of the U.S. Constitution. “White supremacy consciousness has got to go.” (Matt M. McKnight/Crosscut)
Patients receive free dental work during the 4th annual Seattle/King County Clinic at Key Arena in Seattle, Oct. 26, 2017. (Matt M. McKnight/Crosscut)
Kim Le mourns her grandson Tommy Le at Co Lam Pagoda Buddhist Temple in Seattle, Aug. 6, 2017. The 20-year-old Vietnamese-American man was shot and killed by King County Sheriff's officers in Burien, a nearby suburb of Seattle, on June 13. (Matt M. McKnight/Crosscut)
A man who goes by the name “Country” says he has lived on the streets on and off for 8 years. “I wish people would treat me like a human...I always feel like a fish out of water,” he says, underneath the Spokane Street bridge in Seattle, June 28, 2017. “People look down their nose at me and are always judging me at first glance. Everyone makes mistakes and struggles. It’s hard to get into housing when I’m trying to get clean, and that’s what I need to help get away from temptation.” His encampment in SoDo would eventually be swept. (Matt M. McKnight/Crosscut)
Seattle Mayor Ed Murray is hugged by his husband Michael Shiosaki at the first press conference regarding allegations of past sexual abuse in Seattle, Apr. 7, 2017. Murray denied the accusations at the time, but then resigned from his position on Sept. 13, when news broke that his cousin alleged he had abused him decades before. (Matt M. McKnight/Crosscut)
Esteban Camacho Steffensen paints birds high on Seven Seas Brewing’s building with the help of a cherry picker. The 19,200-square-foot mural is one of the largest of its kind in Tacoma, Wash., June 13, 2017.(Matt M. McKnight/Crosscut)
Ryan Mensonides assists in the birth of a calf at Providence Dairy Farm near Enumclaw. With land sparse in Puget Sound, there was a huge win for farmers when PCC Farmland Trust helped the Mensonides family expand operations onto Mountainview Dairy Farm, saving the land from developers who planned to build a housing sub-division on the rural parcel of land. (Matt M. McKnight/Crosscut)
Protesters dressed as witches walk through Judkins Park in Seattle prior to an annual May Day march for workers and immigrants rights on May 1, 2017. May Day in Seattle this year was a far cry from the violence that broke out in Portland and Olympia — and the violence that erupted in Seattle in 2016. (Matt M. McKnight/Crosscut)
Asha Mohamed left Kenya during the Somalian Civil War in the early 1990s. She moved to the U.S. with her husband and has since become a citizen herself while working for King County and raising her children in Seattle as American-born citizens. “It’s ridiculous. Our Muslim friends who’ve gone to Canada are now uncertain if they’ll be able to return to the United States,” Mohamed explained at the protest that occurred at SeaTac International Airport, Jan. 29, 2017. “We’ve been through this hatred before, after 9/11 happened, but people seemingly started to understand our culture better in recent years. But not anymore. With the new administration, this is worse than the time after 9/11 — it feels like our government is after us.” In a small victory for protesters that night, a federal judge granted a stay for the executive order signed by President Donald Trump. “We will fight back. We are not afraid.” she said. (Matt M. McKnight/Crosscut)
Washington State Attorney General Bob Ferguson at his office in downtown Seattle after a press conference regarding a lawsuit against President Trump’s travel ban in Seattle, Mar. 9, 2017. (Matt M. McKnight/Crosscut)
At one point, the Seattle Police Department tweeted that the Womxn’s March stretched 3.6 miles from its origin in Judkins Park to its end in Seattle Center. Organizers expected around 50,000 people to march, but some estimates put the total number at 120,000 or more. “When women talked about doing something more after the Women’s March in January, many talked of running for office, realizing that women were just not as equal as we thought we were,” said local political consultant Cathy Allen in an interview with Crosscut. (Matt M. McKnight/Crosscut)
Lassana Magassa sits for a portrait at Impact Hub in Seattle’s Pioneer Square district. A Muslim PhD student, he was targeted as a security risk and wanted to know why, as detailed in this story by Lilly Fowler and David Kroman. (Matt M. McKnight/Crosscut)
Friends and family console Monika Williams, sister of Charleena Lyles, who was shot and killed by Seattle Police officers in Seattle’s Magnuson Park neighborhood, June 18, 2017. (Matt M. McKnight/Crosscut)
Mourners surround Charleena Lyles’ casket during a funeral service at New Hope Missionary Baptist Church in Seattle’s Central District, July 10, 2017. (Chloe Collyer for Crosscut)
Seattle City Councilmember Kirsten Harris-Talley at Seattle City Hall. Harris-Talley was the 51-day City Council member that was appointed during a chaotic political year for the city. (Matt M. McKnight/Crosscut)
Zachary DeWolf rings a gong during “Unacceptable: A Day of Mourning” outside Seattle City Hall on June 1, 2017. “I’m thinking about youth and young people and students who are most vulnerable. How can we work now to prevent a future experience of homelessness for that vulnerable population? We need to figure out ways to address their needs,” he said. (Karen Ducey for Crosscut)
Pepper spray deployed by Seattle Police when counter-protesters marched against a ‘patriot’ group rallying in Westlake Park, Seattle, Aug. 13, 2017. (Matt M. McKnight/Crosscut)
Seattle Police Chief Kathleen O’Toole hugs a colleague after a press conference at Seattle City Hall, Dec. 4, 2017. She announced her resignation that subsequently promoted Deputy Chief Carmen Best as the new interim police chief effective 2018. (Matt M. McKnight/Crosscut)
Albertina Mora Castillo sorts cherries at the Stemilt fruit packing plant. The fruit growers’ world is both big and small. Their markets are national and global, yet their concerns and survival often hinge on local details. (Matt M. McKnight/Crosscut)
Daniel Pak, a reggae artist who supports youth through his music, performs with Totem Star at Youngstown Cultural Center. (Nick Turner for Crosscut)
Patrick Spencer and his wife Celeste use the closed upper loop road at Seward Park in Seattle as a cross-country skiing route, Feb. 6, 2017. Snow blanketed much of the region closing schools and keeping many residents home from work for the day. (Matt M. McKnight/Crosscut)
Protestors with 50 Handmaids in 50 States hold an hour of silence on the steps of the Washington State Capitol, Oct. 14, 2017. Their red robes reference Margaret Atwood’s novel “The Handmaid’s Tale,” in which women are compelled to wear red as a sign of fertility and lowly status. (Shauna Bittle for Crosscut)
Dave Hubbard, a Piedmontese natural beef cattle rancher, exits the barn with his dog near the rural town of Davenport. This is the place where outlaw Harry Tracy once hid out and ultimately met his demise. (Matt M. McKnight/Crosscut)
Makaio Caldwell leaps in the air with excitement as his father Thomas Caldwell lights fireworks on their street in Rainier Beach, Seattle, July, 4, 2017. (Matt M. McKnight/Crosscut)
Aurora borealis is seen over Steamboat Rock at Banks Lake in eastern Washington, during the early morning hours of July 17, 2017. Knute Berger did some ‘Soul-searching in plateau country’ on his week-long road trip with photographer Matt M. McKnight. (Matt M. McKnight/Crosscut)
