It has been a tough, infuriating, liberating, and gratifying year. One for the history books. So, if a picture can say a thousand words, how much can many stunning pictures say about the year in black culture, around the world?

Let’s look back at the year it was through these incredible images.

These photos were collected from nbcnews.com, nytimes.com, cnn.com, app.com, biography.com, and thisisinsider.com

CHICAGO, JANUARY 10

US President Barack Obama and his wife, Michelle, leave the stage after the President’s farewell address in Chicago.

BENTIU, SOUTH SUDAN, Feb. 10

Women waited in the early morning for drinking water in a camp for displaced people. A civil war has driven millions from their homes.

DETROIT, May 26

At their high school prom, students from Flint, Mich., had a chance to set aside anxieties about their city’s water crisis and poverty.

ORCHARD PARK, NEW YORK, October 29

Buffalo Bills players take a knee prior to a game against the Oakland Raiders.

KWAMASHU, SOUTH AFRICA, June 2

A dance class in a township near Durban. More than two decades after the end of apartheid, the country still has deep-seated disparities in wealth.

LOS ANGELES, January 29

“Hidden Figures” stars Octavia Spencer, Janelle Monae and Taraji P. Henson accept an award at the SAG Awards in Los Angeles.

NEW YORK, January 14

Snow covers Kandy Freeman’s hair as she participates in a Black Lives Matter protest in front of Trump Tower in New York.

TRIPOLI, LIBYA, November 6

A migrant arrives at a naval base after he was rescued by Libyan coastal guards in Tripoli, Libya.

CHARLOTTESVILLE, VIRGINIA, August 12

A counter demonstrator uses a lighted spray can against a white nationalist at the entrance to Lee Park in Charlottesville, Virginia.

OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA, June 12

Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green, left, and guard Stephen Curry celebrate during the second half of Game 5 of basketball’s NBA Finals against the Cleveland Cavaliers

FREETOWN, SIERRA LEONE, July 31

Eight-year-old Aminata Conteh being prepared for surgery on her right eye. A bout of Ebola two years earlier left her with a cataract.

CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA., Aug. 12

During a white nationalist rally, a driver rammed his car into a crowd of counterprotesters, killing a woman and injuring at least 19 people.

LOS ANGELES, February 12

Beyonce performing while pregnant with twins during the 59th Annual Grammy Music Awards.

HOUSTON, Aug. 30

Gerald Sam and his son Gavir at a convention center converted to a temporary shelter after Hurricane Harvey. More than 170,000 homes in Texas were destroyed by the storm.

New York, September 9

Sloane Stephens holds up the U.S. Open championship trophy as the lid falls off after she won the women’s single final.

SAN JUAN, P.R., Sept 27

A couple dining by the light of a camping lantern a week after Hurricane Maria cut off electricity to much of Puerto Rico.

MAIDUGURI, NIGERIA, Sept. 21

Aisha, 15, was ordered by Boko Haram militants to carry out a bombing at an army barracks. Instead, she persuaded the soldiers to disarm her.

NEW YORK, May 1

Music mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs attends the annual Met Gala at New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art

RELATED: 15 People and Moments in Black Culture we are Thankful for in 2017

NIGERIA, May 7

In this photo released by the Nigeria State House, Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari — at center, in the glasses — meets with the 82 Chibok schoolgirls who were released by the terrorist group Boko Haram.

INDIANAPOLIS, Sept. 24

Indianapolis Colts players kneeling during the national anthem before a game against the Cleveland Browns.

HOLLYWOOD, FLA., Oct. 21

Myeshia Johnson, the widow of Sgt. La David T. Johnson, who was killed in Niger, at his burial. President Trump drew criticism for his condolence call to her.

WASHINGTON, Nov. 14

At a House Judiciary committee hearing, Sheila Jackson Lee, Democrat of Texas, displayed a photograph of a woman who accused the Senate candidate Roy Moore of sexual assault. Behind her was a portrait of Representative John Conyers Jr., who resigned in December after sexual harassment accusations surfaced.

HARARE, ZIMBABWE, Nov. 21

A soldier on a tank celebrated the ouster of President Robert Mugabe, 93, the world’s oldest head of state, after 37 years of rule.

MEDITERRANEAN SEA, May 24

Migrants swim in the Mediterranean Sea after their wooden boat capsized near the Italian island of Lampedusa.

ST, LOUIS, September 16

Demonstrators confront police in St. Louis while protesting the acquittal of Jason Stockley, a former police officer who was accused of murder. What started out as peaceful protests turned violent at night.

NAIROBI, KENYA August 10

A man walks through a thick cloud of tear gas toward riot police in Nairobi, Kenya. In the aftermath of the country’s presidential election, confrontations were reported between police and protesters.

BROOKLYN, November 26

Rapper Jay-Z performs on stage during a concert in Brooklyn, New York. He scored eight Grammy nominations this year, the most of any artists.

NEW YORK, August 28

Fashion model and former refugee Halima Aden, who is breaking boundaries as the first hijab-wearing model gracing magazine covers and walking in high profile runway shows, poses during a shoot at a studio in New York City

The year, of course, couldn’t be summed up by just these pictures.