Second Place, George S. Smallsreed Jr. Photographer of the Year - Large Market - Joshua A. Bickel / The Columbus DispatchTeresa Cuckler looks out onto her family's cattle pasture on Friday, August 14, 2020 in Piketon, Ohio. Their small farm is near the south gate of the former Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant. They've had samples of their soil and crops taken for analysis by the U.S. Department of Energy, but have never seen results of the samples taken from their property. Cuckler's youngest son, Layton, 11, would've started at Zahn's Corner Middle School this year, but that school was closed in May 2019 after a U.S. Department of Energy air monitor detected traces of Americium near the school. The family is concerned they may have to sell their farm and move to stay safe and healthy.
Second Place, George S. Smallsreed Jr. Photographer of the Year - Large Market - Joshua A. Bickel / The Columbus DispatchJulia Morales listens as her son, Huliser, reads from a picture of a handwritten Mother's Day note from her daughter on Sunday, May 10, 2020 at their home in Columbus, Ohio. Julia, an undocumented immigrant from Guatemala, left behind her daughter, Monika, after coming to the United States where Huliser was born. Though she fluently speaks Spanish and her indigenous language, Mam, Julia can not read or write, so her son read the note aloud to her.
Second Place, George S. Smallsreed Jr. Photographer of the Year - Large Market - Joshua A. Bickel / The Columbus DispatchStudents get hand sanitizer as they step off the school bus during the first day of school on Tuesday, September 1, 2020 at Heritage Elementary School in Lewis Center, Ohio. The Olentangy School District is adopting a hybrid learning model during the COVID-19 pandemic, with half the students in school buildings part of the week, and at home the other half of the week.
Second Place, George S. Smallsreed Jr. Photographer of the Year - Large Market - Joshua A. Bickel / The Columbus DispatchCardboard cutouts of Ohio State Buckeyes fans decorate the student section during a NCAA Division I football game between the Ohio State Buckeyes and the Nebraska Cornhuskers on Saturday, Oct. 24, 2020 at Ohio Stadium in Columbus, Ohio. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Big Ten Conference barred all fans from conference games, but fans were able to purchase a cutout of themselves from Ohio State for display inside the stadium. Cutouts cost $25 for placement in the student section and $75 for a 50-yard line seat.
Second Place, George S. Smallsreed Jr. Photographer of the Year - Large Market - Joshua A. Bickel / The Columbus DispatchStacey Berling, center, of Grove City, kneels with her sons, Harrison, 2, left, and Finneus, 4, right, as she receives ashes from Deacon Andrew Ames Fuller during an Ash Wednesday service as part of "Ashes To Go" on Wednesday, February 26, 2020 at Upper Arlington Lutheran Church Mill Run Campus in Hilliard, Ohio. Worshippers were able to come to the church and either stay in their car or come inside the building lobby to receive their ashes in lieu of a formal mass or service. Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of the Christian season of Lent.
Second Place, George S. Smallsreed Jr. Photographer of the Year - Large Market - Joshua A. Bickel / The Columbus DispatchOhio Elector Barbara Clark signs the official Certificate of Votes certifying Ohio’s 18 electoral votes for President Donald J. Trump during the 55th Electoral College on Monday, Dec. 14, 2020 at the Ohio Statehouse in Columbus, Ohio. Ohio’s 18 electors cast their votes for President Donald J. Trump, who won the popular vote in Ohio but lost the overall Electoral College and national popular vote to President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr.
Second Place, George S. Smallsreed Jr. Photographer of the Year - Large Market - Joshua A. Bickel / The Columbus DispatchFarmer Nathan Brown feeds one of his cows on Monday, January 6, 2020 at his farm in Hillsboro, Ohio. Farmers are among the most likely to die by suicide compared to other occupations, and in the last two decades, suicide rates among farmers have increased 40 percent, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control. Brown, who struggled with depression and now advocates for better mental health access through his county farm bureau, acknowledges that the isolation and economic stress of farming, and the sigma of mental health in rural areas contribute to the problem. “It’s really rough,” he said. “There’s so much that’s out of your control.”
Second Place, George S. Smallsreed Jr. Photographer of the Year - Large Market - Joshua A. Bickel / The Columbus DispatchDr. Paxton Ott waits to receive a dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine on Tuesday, Dec. 15, 2020 at Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center East in Columbus, Ohio. Vaccine shipments began arriving in Ohio on Monday and frontline health care workers have been the first to receive the vaccine.
Second Place, George S. Smallsreed Jr. Photographer of the Year - Large Market - Joshua A. Bickel / The Columbus DispatchProtesters chant "Open Ohio Now!" in defiance of social distancing guidelines outside the doors to the Statehouse Atrium as news reporters listen during the State of Ohio's Coronavirus response update on April 13, 2020 at the Ohio Statehouse in Columbus, Ohio. About 100 protesters assembled outside the building during Gov. Mike DeWine's daily update on the state's response to the COVID-19 pandemic to rally against his administration's stay-at-home order and closure of non-essential businesses and schools.
Second Place, George S. Smallsreed Jr. Photographer of the Year - Large Market - Joshua A. Bickel / The Columbus DispatchSTORY SUMMARY: Following the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis, protests erupted across the globe calling for an end to police brutality and racial justice. In Columbus, Ohio, protesters came downtown in the days after Floyd’s death, pleading for accountability and demanding change from the local police department, which has had several police-involved shootings of Black men. Tear gas and flash-bangs were common in the first few days of the protests as police attempted to disperse crowds from the streets. The crowds continued to grow and remained largely peaceful in the weeks that followed as protesters worked for change.CAPTION: A protester walks down Broad Street as Columbus Division of Police officers walk behind during nationwide protests following the death of George Floyd on Friday, May 29, 2020 in Columbus, Ohio. Floyd, a 46-year-old Black man, was killed while in police custody after allegedly passing a counterfeit $20 bill at a convenience store. Derek Chauvin, one of four Minneapolis police officers involved in Floyd's arrest, has himself been arrested and charged with third-degree murder and manslaughter. During the arrest, video footage showed Chauvin kneeling on Floyd's neck for almost nine minutes as Floyd repeatedly said "I can't breathe."
Second Place, George S. Smallsreed Jr. Photographer of the Year - Large Market - Joshua A. Bickel / The Columbus DispatchA protester leads a chant as they stand on a car in Broad Street as protests continue following the death of Minneapolis resident George Floyd on Tuesday, June 2, 2020 in Columbus, Ohio.
Second Place, George S. Smallsreed Jr. Photographer of the Year - Large Market - Joshua A. Bickel / The Columbus DispatchA women kneels to the ground as others tend to her after she was pepper sprayed during nationwide protests following the death of George Floyd on Friday, May 29, 2020 in Columbus, Ohio.
Second Place, George S. Smallsreed Jr. Photographer of the Year - Large Market - Joshua A. Bickel / The Columbus DispatchA protester questions Columbus Division of Police Deputy Chief Jennifer Knight as protests continue following the death of Minneapolis resident George Floyd on Monday, June 1, 2020 in Columbus, Ohio. After two days of standoffs with police officers clad in riot gear and armed with tear gas and rubber bullets, Police leadership came out unarmed to the protests to listen and attempt to quell tensions.
Second Place, George S. Smallsreed Jr. Photographer of the Year - Large Market - Joshua A. Bickel / The Columbus DispatchA man watches as a pile of wooden pallets burn after unknown persons set fire to them as protests continue following the death of Minneapolis resident George Floyd on Saturday, May 30, 2020 in Columbus, Ohio.
Second Place, George S. Smallsreed Jr. Photographer of the Year - Large Market - Joshua A. Bickel / The Columbus DispatchEbri Yahloe chants "No Justice, No Peace" while sitting along High Street with thousands of others as nationwide protests continue following the death of Minneapolis resident George Floyd on Monday, June 1, 2020 in Columbus, Ohio.
Second Place, George S. Smallsreed Jr. Photographer of the Year - Large Market - Joshua A. Bickel / The Columbus DispatchA cardboard sign with names of individuals from across the country who have died at the hands of police are seen on a sign as protests continue following the death of Minneapolis resident George Floyd on Monday, June 1, 2020 in Columbus, Ohio.
Second Place, George S. Smallsreed Jr. Photographer of the Year - Large Market - Joshua A. Bickel / The Columbus DispatchProtesters march back into the intersection of High and Broad street as protests continue following the death of Minneapolis resident George Floyd on Tuesday, June 2, 2020 in Columbus, Ohio.
Second Place, George S. Smallsreed Jr. Photographer of the Year - Large Market - Joshua A. Bickel / The Columbus DispatchDelton Boyd Jr., center, of Columbus, begins to cry as he embraces his son, Delton III, 14, while sharing his experiences with racism to Columbus Division of Police Deputy Chief Jennifer Knight, not pictured, as protests continue following the death of Minneapolis resident George Floyd on Monday, June 1, 2020 in Columbus, Ohio.
Second Place, George S. Smallsreed Jr. Photographer of the Year - Large Market - Joshua A. Bickel / The Columbus DispatchGraffiti is seen on a statue of President William McKinley outside the Ohio Statehouse as protests continue following the death of Minneapolis resident George Floyd on Saturday, May 30, 2020 in Columbus, Ohio.
Second Place, George S. Smallsreed Jr. Photographer of the Year - Large Market - Joshua A. Bickel / The Columbus DispatchSTORY SUMMARY: Little cities across southeastern Ohio owe their existence to coal. As the industry boomed in the 19th century, jobs, people and wealth poured into the region. But as coal declined, so did the fortunes of these places. Now, Ohio towns that relied on coal are trying to reinvent themselves as centers of tourism and culture. With coal production levels at their lowest since 1979, residents were largely receptive to campaign promises from President Donald Trump, who in 2016 made promises of a revitalized coal industry a fixture of his stump speech. But coal production levels continued on a steady decline, even during the Trump administration, and the incoming Biden administration plans to pivot to zero-emission electricity by 2035. Long described as a region of poverty and environmental damage, but also of risk-takers and pioneers, residents of Appalachian Ohio both embrace their coal legacy and recognize its effects on the area.CAPTION: A man walks to his truck parked along Main Street on Friday, Sept. 18, 2020 in Shawnee, Ohio. The town, in Appalachian Perry County, was once a bustling coal mining town with a population of nearly 4,000. In 2010, the population stood at 665, according to the U.S. Census. Many buildings are in disrepair, and few economic opportunities remain. “It looks like a Wild West town that’s been dropped in a forest in the east,” said resident Richard Lutz. Despite the town’s struggles, a dedicated group of town citizens are working to reinvent Shawnee as a hub for tourism.
Second Place, George S. Smallsreed Jr. Photographer of the Year - Large Market - Joshua A. Bickel / The Columbus DispatchJennifer Harrison poses for a portrait on Fourth Street, near where she used to live, as the Gen. James M. Gavin Power Plant, the largest coal-fired plant in the country, is seen in the background, on Monday, Dec. 21, 2020 in Cheshire, Ohio. In the early 2000s, Harrison’s family along with many others who lived along Fourth Street, were bought out by American Electric Power after encountering numerous environmental and health problems related to the coal plant, including asthma and high incidents of cancer. After leaving, the Harrisons relocated to nearby Gallipolis, but the effects of the plant’s pollution linger in her mind. “I worry about my kids,” Harrison said. “They grew up there.”
Second Place, George S. Smallsreed Jr. Photographer of the Year - Large Market - Joshua A. Bickel / The Columbus DispatchA homemade "Trump Train" display, with “train cars” that show President Trump’s policy stances, including energy independence, sits outside Shaun Burnett's home on Friday, Oct. 9, 2020 in Woodsfield, Ohio. During the 2016 campaign, Trump made multiple remarks about bringing coal mining and production back to impoverished areas of Appalachia. Though mining and production are still below peak levels, Trump did succeed in rolling back at least a dozen environmental regulations related to coal.
Second Place, George S. Smallsreed Jr. Photographer of the Year - Large Market - Joshua A. Bickel / The Columbus DispatchA small painting of a coal train on a concrete structure on Tuesday, Sept. 29, 2020 in New Straitsville, Ohio. The town was the home of Christopher Evans, a labor organizer who led secret meetings inside a cave in town in the late 19th century. Those meetings would lead to the formation of the United Mine Workers of America. Despite these historical ties, there are no unionized coal mines or union mine workers in Ohio.
Second Place, George S. Smallsreed Jr. Photographer of the Year - Large Market - Joshua A. Bickel / The Columbus DispatchNine-year-old Brooklyn Spangler stands outside her home on Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2020 in Nelsonville, Ohio. Once a bustling 19th-century coal mining town, industry has come and gone from Nelsonville. Economic opportunities remain scant and 39% of its residents live in poverty.
Second Place, George S. Smallsreed Jr. Photographer of the Year - Large Market - Joshua A. Bickel / The Columbus DispatchThe First Presbyterian Church and Nelsonville Cross seen on Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2020 in Nelsonville, Ohio. After the collapse of the local coal industry, the town of 5,000 relied on manufacturing to anchor its economic base. As manufacturing slowed and was outsourced, the town, like many others in the Hocking Valley, are pivoting to tourism to revitalize the area.
Second Place, George S. Smallsreed Jr. Photographer of the Year - Large Market - Joshua A. Bickel / The Columbus DispatchMonday Creek, stained dark orange from acid mine runoff, on Thursday, Sept. 24, 2020 in Corning, Ohio. Acid mine runoff forms when surface water mixes with rocks rich in sulfur, often the byproduct of mining. The resulting chemical reaction produces sulfuric acid.
Second Place, George S. Smallsreed Jr. Photographer of the Year - Large Market - Joshua A. Bickel / The Columbus DispatchA gob pile, built of accumulated waste rock from coal mining, sits near Tecumseh Lake on Friday, Sept. 18, 2020 in Shawnee, Ohio.
Second Place, George S. Smallsreed Jr. Photographer of the Year - Large Market - Joshua A. Bickel / The Columbus DispatchAshley Lynn Hughes poses for a portrait outside her home on Thursday, Nov. 5, 2020 in Nelsonville, Ohio. She, her husband and three kids moved to Nelsonville almost a decade ago seeking a safer environment. “You know everybody and I like that my kids can walk to their friends’ houses,” she said of the town. But economic opportunity is scarce; Hughes was fired from her job at McDonald’s after the COVID-19 pandemic forced her to stay at home to take care of her kids. The family is contemplating a move to Pennsylvania to be closer to family.
Second Place, George S. Smallsreed Jr. Photographer of the Year - Large Market - Joshua A. Bickel / The Columbus DispatchSmoke billows out of the stacks of the Gavin Power Plant on Monday, Dec. 21, 2020 in Cheshire, Ohio. The plant’s units will reach their lifespan in the mid-2020s and the incoming Biden administration campaigned on a promise to transition all electricity to zero-emissions by 2035, so it’s likely the plant will shut down in the next few years. Though it’s one of the United States' largest polluters, emitting 13 million tons of carbon dioxide every year, it is also Gallia County’s largest taxpayer, paying about $5 million in taxes in 2019, with 70 cents of every tax dollar going to the school district, according to the county auditor.
Second Place, George S. Smallsreed Jr. Photographer of the Year - Large Market - Joshua A. Bickel / The Columbus DispatchSTORY SUMMARY: Over the course of 11 days, as outrage grew over the death of George Floyd and others whose names were shouted along with his, many felt compelled to join the movement. Protesters came to downtown Columbus, Ohio, to demand action to stop the police brutality and discrimination they say has gone on unchecked for way too long. Then the protests got more violent, and the focus turned to tear gas and broken windows. Lost in the chaos was the message so many were desperately trying to shout over all the noise: Something has to change.Many protesters came downtown day after day. They marched for justice. As they chanted with the crowd, they reflected on their own experience with discrimination. They demonstrated to make life better for the children they hoped to have one day.CAPTION:Jebel Jones, 40, Jamille Jones, 37, and Zulima Jones, 6, of Gahanna, Ohio:Zulima Jones attended her first protest at two months old. Strapped to her mother Jamille’s chest, the family of three marched through the streets of New York City, protesting the death of Eric Garner, who died in 2014 after a police officer put him in a chokehold while arresting him.“With Eric Garner and Michael Brown, the world hadn’t reacted,” Jebel Jones said. “There was zero justification.”Six years later, he said, the world is starting to listen.“I’m so proud that everyone noticed and not just us,” he said. “If we’re louder this time, if we protest longer this time, maybe there won’t be a next time.”For Jamille Jones, this time is different.“Now, being a mother, I’m more her for her,” Jamille said, looking at Zulima. “Hearing George Floyd call out for his mother gets to me.“I’m out here so in five years, she won’t have to be back out here protesting again.”
Second Place, George S. Smallsreed Jr. Photographer of the Year - Large Market - Joshua A. Bickel / The Columbus DispatchShakara Petty, 23, of Dublin, Ohio:Shakara Petty put it simply: Being a Black woman in America is hard.“It’s one thing being a woman in America,” she said. “But being a Black woman? You have to carry yourself in a certain way.”If she’s ever mad, she’s an angry Black woman. If she’s ever outspoken, she’s ratchet. She feels like she can’t show weakness. She has to be strong.“It’s a whole different walk,” she said.She was taught to be strong by her mother, who learned it from the women before her, who learned it from the women before them, and so on, and so on.“It gets tiring being strong,” Petty said. “I want an off day, too.”
Second Place, George S. Smallsreed Jr. Photographer of the Year - Large Market - Joshua A. Bickel / The Columbus DispatchRonnie Stokes Jr., 25, and Tamisha Tarpley, 25, of New Albany, Ohio:Tamisha Tarpley knows she carries influence, which is why she feels responsible for being at the protests. “I want to use my voice and I want to be heard,” Tarpley said.It’s the same fight that her parents, grandparents and great-grandparents were fighting. Now, it’s hers.Ronnie Stokes Jr., Tarpley’s husband, feels that same responsibility but said he’s frustrated by the weight of it. “It’s not right that I have to feel this way,” Stokes said. “We all have a voice and we should all be fighting this fight.”
Second Place, George S. Smallsreed Jr. Photographer of the Year - Large Market - Joshua A. Bickel / The Columbus DispatchTrevon Jamison, 22, and Keshawn Wilson, 20, of Columbus, Ohio:Keshawn Wilson is scared. Scared that one day he’ll get a phone call from his family saying something happened to them. Scared that when a cop pulls him over, they’ll see arrest warrants under his name instead of the victim of identity theft as a child. Scared that when the protesters finally go home that people will forget.“Looking at all of these cops right now makes me scared,” Wilson said. “The only thing that makes the fear go away is being inside.”Wilson said he doesn’t think all cops are bad. There have been plenty who’ve helped him out in moments of need, who listened to him say those warrants weren’t his. But for all of the good cops out there, he said, the racist cops aren’t helping anyone.“They’re making America look divided,” Wilson said.
Second Place, George S. Smallsreed Jr. Photographer of the Year - Large Market - Joshua A. Bickel / The Columbus DispatchAustin Smith, 18, of Bexley, Ohio, with his friends, Gavi Steinman, 17, of Bexley and Julian Chitu, 18, of Bexley, Ohio:Austin Smith thought about all the times he chose silence over speaking out.He thought back to that cruise ship vacation in 2017 when a white woman called one of his black friends a monkey. One of their white friends told the woman off, but Smith said nothing. “I was complicit,” Smith said. “It’s two years later, and now I’m speaking out.”Smith and his friends –– Gavi Steinman, 17, and Julian Chitu, 18, both of Bexley –– organized a protest at Bexley High School last week after going to a protest in Downtown a couple days early. More than 60 of their classmates and teachers showed up in solidarity.“I feel uplifted,” Smith said, looking at Steinman and Chitu. “Not everyone I know is explicit about their support. I know my friends who are.”
Second Place, George S. Smallsreed Jr. Photographer of the Year - Large Market - Joshua A. Bickel / The Columbus DispatchVon Hubbard, 27, of Reynoldsburg, Ohio:Growing up in the South, Von Hubbard saw his history every day. One time in elementary school, Hubbard’s class drove from Huntsville, Alabama to Birmingham on a field trip. They visited the 16th Street Baptist Church, where four members of a local Ku Klux Klan chapter planted dynamite beneath the church steps in 1963. Twenty-two people were injured in the explosion, and four young girls died.Hubbard thought to himself then that that was history. Things have changed.Last week, Hubbard was in the shower singing along to "A Change Is Gonna Come" by Sam Cooke. Tears started to well as he sang along.“It just hit me. I’m singing that this change is gonna come, but a change hasn’t come,” Hubbard said. “I’m still singing this though.”“I’m out here so that I can do my part for that change,” Hubbard said, “to make a better future so my son doesn’t have to do this, too.”
Second Place, George S. Smallsreed Jr. Photographer of the Year - Large Market - Joshua A. Bickel / The Columbus DispatchSabrina Oden, 36, of Columbus, Ohio, with her friend Lindsey Drahos, 37, of Columbus, Ohio:Sabrina Oden held up a banner as she marched. It read “We Walk Together in Peace.”Oden –– alongside her husband and former Ohio State basketball player Greg Oden, former Ohio State basketball player Rick Smith, and their friends and family –– marched through Columbus last week in solidarity with the growing Black Lives Matter movement.Oden said it was important to her that their group came out united as a family.“I see love, I see human beings,” Oden said. “We bleed the same, we breathe the same.”Being peaceful and present, Oden said, is not just for them. It’s for their children, their nieces and nephews, and future generations, too.“If we don’t show up, no change will ever come,” Oden said.
Second Place, George S. Smallsreed Jr. Photographer of the Year - Large Market - Joshua A. Bickel / The Columbus DispatchAnthony Hitchens, 30, and Bryana Tarpley, 27, of Blacklick, Ohio:As a black man, Anthony Hitchens said, he doesn’t have a choice but to be out here protesting.The countless encounters with police, always fitting the wrong description, getting stalked in the store for no reason. It all weighs on him.“I’m furious, angry, scared, lost, wondering, hopeless, hopeful… every emotion you could think of,” Hitchens said.Hitchens’ fiancé, Bryana Tarpley, said everything feels surreal.“It’s like when you’re in school and you learn about slavery and you say, ‘I wonder what it was like in the slave days,” Tarpley said. “But you’re seeing it in action. The past is now.”They wanted to be a part of this movement for their future. They want to have children one day, Hitchens said, but Tarpley is scared of what that could bring.“I wish they loved black people like they love our culture,” Hitchens said.He shook his head.“This is America,” he said. “We’re supposed to be free.”
Second Place, George S. Smallsreed Jr. Photographer of the Year - Large Market - Joshua A. Bickel / The Columbus DispatchZharia Troutman, 23, of Marion, Ohio:To Zharia Troutman, it’s just the right thing to do.“They’re my people,” Troutman said.She wants equality. She wants respect. She’s grateful for the support of people who aren’t Black, but she hopes they take the time to educate themselves beyond this moment. She worries in a world where she knows she and her family members will always fit the description of the suspect.She knows that one day when she chooses to start a family, whether her partner is white or black, her children will still be black. They’ll still carry the same weight she has because of the color of her skin.“We’re people, too,” Troutman said. “We’re the same, just different shades.”
Second Place, George S. Smallsreed Jr. Photographer of the Year - Large Market - Joshua A. Bickel / The Columbus DispatchNitoriya Goff, 32, Faith Smith, 4, and Isaiah Smith, 6, of Columbus, Ohio:Nitorya Goff and her two children –– 6-year-old Isaiah and 4-year-old Faith –– are just a piece of what she calls her “huge bonded, blended and unbroken family.”“We are a tribe,” Goff said. “My nieces and nephews are mixed. We’ve got family from all over.”When she looks out at the crowds of protesters, she sees a reflection of her family. People of all different backgrounds, united together by a common bond. It’s for that reason, she said, she feels hopeful.“Change is coming,” Goff said. “My kids are gonna be safer and they’re gonna have more to look forward to.”She paused, opened her eyes and looked heavenward.“Thank you, God,” she said.
