A few dozen people gathered at Black Lives Matter Plaza on Wednesday to watch as Joe Biden became the 46th president of the United States. They huddled in groups of threes and fours to watch the moment, not on a big screen but on their smartphones. For many, it was important to be out in public and in proximity to the event.
“It’s one thing looking at it on TV and being actually in the presence of this historical moment. You can actually feel the change in everybody’s attitude. You can feel the change in the atmosphere,” said Dyamond Douglas.
Ms Douglas, 22, and her mother Felicia Douglas Littejohn had flown to Washington from Greenville, South Carolina.
The two made the same trip 12 years ago for former president Barack Obama’s first inauguration.
“We wanted to keep the trend going and be here for the first inauguration of our sister, my sorority sister, Kamala Harris,” said Felicia Douglas Littlejohn, who like Vice President Kamala Harris is a member of the Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority.
For the younger Ms Douglas, who is interested in a possible political career, seeing a woman of colour ascend to the second-highest office in the country means everything.
“It’s a really uplifting moment because I have someone in office that looks like me and that stands for what I believe in as well as the majority of the people who support her as well. It gives me the representation and the drive to potentially run for office in the future and just being a change agent in this country,” she said.
Wednesday’s inauguration was unlike any other in US history. Tens of thousands of National Guard troops patrolled the streets of Washington or manned checkpoints. Heavy assault rifles dangled from their necks as they prevented traffic from getting anywhere close to the US Capitol building, the National Mall and the White House.
The troops were there to ensure the events of January 6, when supporters of former president Donald Trump stormed the US Capitol building, were not repeated. With public events around the inauguration cancelled, an eerie quiet descended on the city, which is heavily liberal and voted 90 per cent for Mr Biden.
In Shaw, a neighbourhood north of Capitol Hill, residents banged pots and pans to ring in the new presidency. Neighbours exchanged cheers and one woman, dressed for the occasion in a sparkling burgundy dress, popped a bottle of champagne in the street.
Many of the people who chose to watch the ceremony in public felt a sense of deep relief that Mr Trump’s time in office had come to an end.
“We’re here to celebrate the new beginning and the beginning of the end,” said Vianney Mendoza.
Ms Mendoza, 63, who lives in Southern California, had flown with her two sisters aged 78 and 72 as well as her daughter, son and nieces to be in Washington for the day.
“We’re here to celebrate for everyone, for all my family. We’ve been affected by Covid, we’ve been affected by unemployment and with this new administration, we’re very hopeful it will be better,” Ms Mendoza said.
This was a sentiment shared by many in Black Lives Matter Plaza.
