2021: A Year in Photos

Caro Pinkapunika, who belongs to the Indigenous California Chemehuevi tribe, burns palo santo and tobacco atop a prayer medicine wheel at a protest against former President George W. Bush speaking at the Long Beach Terrace Theater as part of its Distinguished Speakers Series on Sept. 20, 2021. Those outside the theater protested Bush’s role in the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan after 9/11 purportedly as part of the “war on terror” and the casualties it left in its path.(Richard H. Grant | Signal Tribune)

Family members of Mona Rodriguez, an 18-year old mother shot by an LBUSD school safety officer in September, listen to a speaker broadcasting a LBUSD Board of Education meeting on Oct. 6, 2021. The family asked the board to fire the officer who shot Rodriguez and reform their safety protocols. The officer was charged with murder on Dec. 8. (Richard H. Grant | Signal Tribune)
An anti-vaccine protester holds signs outside the LBUSD headquarters building during a Board of Education meeting on Oct. 6, 2021. Long Beach Parents United organized a protest against vaccine mandates after Gov. Gavin Newsom announced a statewide requirement for students to get the COVID-19 vaccine to attend school once approved by the FDA. (Richard H. Grant | Signal Tribune)
Protesters fill up the steps and sidewalk around the George Deukmejian Courthouse during a rally against new Texas abortion laws on Oct. 2, 2021. The march took place a month after Senate Bill 8, prohibiting abortions past 6 weeks and financially incentivizing people to turn in those who acted in support of abortions. The Supreme Court upheld the bill after its passage. (Richard H. Grant | Signal Tribune)
McKenzie Mortuary Services owner Ken McKenzie takes a call in his office in January 2021. His mortuary reached capacity in January of this year due to increased deaths due to COVID-19, forcing him to tell families to call back in a week. He had to order a third 20-foot refrigerated unit to store the overflow of bodies. (Emma DiMaggio | Signal Tribune)
Jose Rocha stands in solidarity with union representatives and grocery workers at a North Long Beach Food 4 Less on Wednesday, Feb. 3 to denounce its closure by its parent company Kroger. The closure was announced after the city council approved a temporary $4 “hero pay” salary boost for grocery workers on Jan. 19. (Lissette Mendoza | Signal Tribune)
A protester raises his fist at an April 10 march protesting against the City of Long Beach’s approval of a migrant detention center at the Long Beach Convention Center. The center held undocumented minors detained at the southern border from July to April while they waited to be reunited with family or placed with sponsors. Advocates decried the expansion of detention facilities. (Richard H. Grant | Signal Tribune)
Organizer Xodiac dances at the halfway mark of the march at the Queer Liberation Now event during the 52nd anniversary of the Stonewall Uprising at Bixby Park in Long Beach on June 28, 2021. The first gay pride parades in the United States were held on the one-year anniversary of the Stonewall Uprising. (Richard H. Grant | Signal Tribune)
Students walk across the playground after recess at Theodore Roosevelt Elementary School for the first day of school on Aug. 31, 2021. After two years of virtual learning due to the COVID-19 pandemic, an estimated 68,000 Long Beach Unified School District students returned to their classrooms in August. (Richard H. Grant | Signal Tribune)
Elena Effler, owner of the Dream Come True Tea & Party Room, poses for a portrait near the shop’s front window on Aug. 18, 2021. After struggling with rent flexibility at her old location during the early days of the pandemic, Effler found her dream site in Bixby in May 2020 to keep her business going. (Richard H. Grant | Signal Tribune)
Workers clean oil out of wetlands near Huntington State Beach on Oct. 4, 2021, after an oil spill from an offshore rig that threatened the lives of ocean wildlife and birds. About 25,000 gallons of oil seeped into the ocean from the ruptured 16-inch pipeline submerged about 4.7 miles west of Huntington Beach. (Richard H. Grant | Signal Tribune)
A child watches intently as training takes place at Guv’nors Boxing Club on Thursday, May 6. The Cambodia Town gym partnered with the Local Hearts Foundation and the Manny Pacquiao Foundation to help the youth in the community through boxing. The organizations have provided professional boxing gear and other equipment for children and trainers. (Richard H. Grant | Signal Tribune)
Long Beach City Councilmember Cindy Allen jumps in joy as Mayor Robert Garcia laughs during a check presentation at Bixby Park on Oct. 21, 2021. The state infused $850,000 in funds to enhance the park that will go towards modernizing the park’s community center and the addition of a computer lab.
(Richard H. Grant | Signal Tribune)
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