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    The preparation for an inauguration like no other – a photo essay

    A presidency like no other ended in an inauguration like no other. The twin forces of Covid-19 and domestic terrorism bent the event – and its host city – out of shape. There were no cheering crowds on the Mall and this was no “shining city on a hill”. Instead Washington DC was wrapped in perimeter fencing, road barricades and security checkpoints. Meanwhile 20,000 troops from the national guard patrolled a Capitol that had been sacked two weeks earlier by insurrectionists wishing to overturn the election result. We asked the photographer Jordan Gale to record this extraordinary inauguration – he has been in the city since Saturday – and he captured these sombre images that reflect a city, and country, in the grip of terror and anxiety. – John Mulholland More

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    Joe Biden becomes 46th US president: key events from the day – video report

    Joe Biden has been sworn in as the 46th president of the United States. 
    Biden declared that ‘democracy has prevailed’ during a ceremony that honoured the ritual transfer of power at the US Capitol, where exactly two weeks ago a swarm of supporters loyal to his predecessor stormed the building in a violent and futile last bid to overturn the result of the election.  
    Kamala Harris also made history as she was sworn in as America’s first female, black and Asian-American vice-president. Other highlights of the day included the US youth poet laureate, Amanda Gorman, who received a standing ovation for her recital her poem, The Hill We Climb
    Joe Biden sworn in as 46th president of the United States  More

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    Vermont dadcore: does Bernie Sanders caring so little about fashion make him chic?

    It’s not every day that you get to inaugurate the 46th president of the United States, the first female vice-president of color, or attend the inauguration, period. But for Bernie Sanders, it’s also not often he gets enough time in the middle of the day to run errands and take care of his mail either.The former presidential hopeful has drawn side eyes for turning up to the inauguration day sans formal attire – instead looking like he was stopping by between doing his laundry and going to the post office. Wearing a winter jacket, oversized mittens and holding a manila envelope, the Vermont senator at least gets top marks for one thing: “absolutely crushing Vermont dadcore”.But for those wanting to get the Sanders’ look, it could be difficult to get hold of his mittens – those were a gift from a teacher in Vermont, Jen Ellis, according to local press. The mittens are very on-brand for Sanders, who popularized the Green New Deal in the US, as they are made with wool repurposed from sweaters and fleece made from recycled plastic bottles.(Much to Ellis’ surprise, after she gifted Sanders the mittens, he wore them on the campaign trail for two years straight. At least his fingers won’t be feeling the Bern in today’s sub-zero weather.)Sanders is no stranger to becoming a meme – indeed, a video of him asking supporters for money in 2020 led to numerous jokes made at his expense.Luckily for those who know the meme well, Sanders turned up at the inauguration wearing that same Burton jacket – he’s thrifty like that! – leading to a slew of new memes written in the style in which the Vermont senator usually asks for money.“I am once again asking for a space heater,” said one. (My own take involves imagining Sanders at the post office shortly after speeches today: “I am respectfully asking you to have this sent by Thursday,” he will ask, handing over the manila envelope.)Sanders has often been ribbed for putting the practical over the ceremonial – abstaining from mingling at events, dallying in niceties and, it would appear, even bothering to upgrade from the $1 mask he bought at the bodega last March.But others find his Grandma energy quite endearing. It takes some resolve – or obliviousness – to care so little about sartorial conventions that not even such a historic day would drive you to make an effort. Perhaps not caring is the new chic. More

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    Kamala Harris: her home town watches as one of its daughters makes history

    The winter wind caused a flutter in a new flag hanging high above city hall in Oakland, California, on Wednesday morning, as the Bay Area celebrated the history being made by one of its own.Oakland native Kamala Harris on Wednesday was sworn in as the US vice-president, becoming the first woman in American history and the first woman of African American and south Asian descent to take up the position.Harris was born in Oakland and lived in neighboring Berkeley, where her parents studied at the University of California, Berkeley, until she was 12 years old. She served as San Francisco district attorney, and California attorney general, before becoming the state’s junior senator.Harris has frequently cited her experiences growing up in the Bay Area as foundational in her political career, including being bussed into wealthier white schools as part of an integration program. On Wednesday, residents of the region proudly watched her ascend to one of the highest offices in the land.An Oakland-Scranton “Unity” flag, designed by Oakland artist Favianna Rodriguez and Ryan Hnat from Joe Biden’s home town of Scranton, Pennsylvania, was hoisted into the heavy gusts the day before the inauguration.The Oakland mayor Libby Schaaf also hung the flag outside her home in the hills as the inauguration celebration continued on the other side of the country. “Congrats my friend Kamala Harris!” Schaaf wrote on Twitter. “Oakland is proud beyond words. First Black Woman & Asian Woman VP. Daughter of Immigrants & Daughter of Oakland. You make us proud to be Americans again.”It’s just moving that a Black and Indian woman was born at Oakland Kaiser like I was, grew up in the flats near San Pablo Avenue like I did, in the same heavily Black and Indian district I did, and got bussed up to a school in the hills like I did, is going to the White House— Darrell Owens (@IDoTheThinking) January 20, 2021
    Local businesses also commemorated the occasion. Local Food Adventures, a food tour company, boxed and sold foods that celebrate Harris’s heritage, and included a locally made cornbread mix, a garam masala spice blend from Oaktown Spice Shop, and a coupon for waffles from Harris’s friend Derreck Johnson, the owner of Home of Chicken & Waffles.Oakland chef Robert Dorsey, who went to the same elementary school as Harris, planned to serve one of her favorites – seafood gumbo – but he’s now calling it “Democracy gumbo”.Tony Evans and his 15-year-old granddaughter Dy’mond of East Oakland were overcome with emotion while watching Oakland native @KamalaHarris be sworn in as the first Black, South Asian female Vice President. Evans met Harris while working in Georgia as a poll worker @sfchronicle pic.twitter.com/AglLQodAfM— Jessica Christian (@jachristian) January 20, 2021
    Performers from more than two dozen local arts organizations prepared a program titled “Oakland Salutes”, celebrating the Oakland native. The prerecorded videos included socially distanced harmonies from the Piedmont East Bay Children’s Choir, performances from the Oakland Asian Cultural Center and the Oaktown Jazz Workshop, and spoken dedications from local officials.“I am standing in front of an oak tree, because it is a symbol of Oakland, as well as a symbol of strength, wisdom and endurance,” the orchestra’s music director, Michael Morgan said at the start of the streamed show. “These are all qualities we all associate with the native daughter of Oakland, Kamala Harris.”Today, a daughter of Oakland became the woman who shattered glass ceilings, inspired women and girls around the world, and made history. Congratulations, Vice President @KamalaHarris.— Alex Padilla (@AlexPadilla4CA) January 20, 2021
    Harris will also be able to show off her hometown pride at the White House, thanks to a gift from the Warriors. Stephen Curry, a star from the basketball team that played in Oakland from 1971 until last year when the team moved to San Francisco, presented Harris with her own jersey – No 49, because she is the 49th vice-president – and “Madame VP” in block letters across the top.In a moving tribute, a video from the team features a young girl named Stella donning the oversized jersey as she thinks about the opportunities ahead. “I love that Kamala looks like me and I can do anything,” she says, as she dances and skips through the city.Kari Paul contributed to this report More

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    The inauguration music: Biden trumps Trump with singers you actually know

    Whoever was in charge of booking the talent for Joe Biden’s inauguration clearly had an easier task than their counterpart in 2017. Donald Trump’s transition team promised the world a performance by Elton John. Instead, performers at various inauguration events included Tony Orlando, of Knock Three Times and Tie a Yellow Ribbon fame; a fading post-grunge band called 3 Doors Down; country singer Toby Keith; and a woman who came second on America’s Got Talent. Elton John, it transpired, hadn’t confirmed and evidently had no intention of playing. Here was a lesson for unscrupulous gig promoters everywhere about announcing an act before they sign up.
    In fairness, they managed to grub up one actual musical legend – Sam Moore, one half of 60s soul duo Sam & Dave, who performed at a pre-inauguration event called Make America Great Again! Welcome Celebration. But the swearing-in ceremony itself featured only a choir and military band – a climbdown from Trump’s predecessor, Barack Obama, who had Aretha Franklin sing at his 2009 ceremony followed by Beyoncé in 2013. An excruciating nadir was reached when a Bruce Springsteen tribute act called the B Street Band withdrew from an inauguration eve gig. When the tribute bands start telling you to do one, you’re in trouble.
    Under the circumstances, almost anything would have been an improvement, but Biden’s team proved capable of drawing in some major stars: the Celebrating America TV special that followed the inauguration was hosted by Tom Hanks and featured Justin Timberlake, Foo Fighters, Demi Lovato, Jon Bon Jovi, John Legend and the real Bruce Springsteen.
    At the inauguration itself, Lady Gaga sang the national anthem wearing an enormous red skirt and something you would have described as a brooch in the shape of a dove were it not the size of her head; by her standards at least, she’d dressed down for the occasion. She belted out The Star-Spangled Banner in potent Broadway style, before Jennifer Lopez showed up to perform a medley of America the Beautiful and This Land Is Your Land. More

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    The Hill We Climb: the Amanda Gorman poem that stole the inauguration show

    When day comes, we ask ourselves where can we find light in this never-ending shade? The loss we carry, a sea we must wade. We’ve braved the belly of the beast. We’ve learned that quiet isn’t always peace, and the norms and notions of what “just” is isn’t always justice. And yet, the dawn is ours before we knew it. Somehow we do it. Somehow we’ve weathered and witnessed a nation that isn’t broken, but simply unfinished. We, the successors of a country and a time where a skinny Black girl descended from slaves and raised by a single mother can dream of becoming president, only to find herself reciting for one.And yes, we are far from polished, far from pristine, but that doesn’t mean we are striving to form a union that is perfect. We are striving to forge our union with purpose. To compose a country committed to all cultures, colors, characters, and conditions of man. And so we lift our gazes not to what stands between us, but what stands before us. We close the divide because we know, to put our future first, we must first put our differences aside. We lay down our arms so we can reach out our arms to one another. We seek harm to none and harmony for all. Let the globe, if nothing else, say this is true: That even as we grieved, we grew. That even as we hurt, we hoped. That even as we tired, we tried. That we’ll forever be tied together, victorious. Not because we will never again know defeat, but because we will never again sow division.Scripture tells us to envision that everyone shall sit under their own vine and fig tree and no one shall make them afraid. If we’re to live up to our own time, then victory won’t lie in the blade, but in all the bridges we’ve made. That is the promise to glade, the hill we climb, if only we dare. It’s because being American is more than a pride we inherit. It’s the past we step into and how we repair it. We’ve seen a force that would shatter our nation rather than share it. Would destroy our country if it meant delaying democracy. This effort very nearly succeeded.But while democracy can be periodically delayed, it can never be permanently defeated. In this truth, in this faith, we trust,for while we have our eyes on the future, history has its eyes on us. This is the era of just redemption. We feared it at its inception. We did not feel prepared to be the heirs of such a terrifying hour, but within it, we found the power to author a new chapter, to offer hope and laughter to ourselves.So while once we asked, ‘How could we possibly prevail over catastrophe?’ now we assert, ‘How could catastrophe possibly prevail over us?’We will not march back to what was, but move to what shall be: A country that is bruised but whole, benevolent but bold, fierce and free. We will not be turned around or interrupted by intimidation because we know our inaction and inertia will be the inheritance of the next generation. Our blunders become their burdens. But one thing is certain: If we merge mercy with might, and might with right, then love becomes our legacy and change, our children’s birthright.So let us leave behind a country better than the one we were left. With every breath from my bronze-pounded chest, we will raise this wounded world into a wondrous one. We will rise from the golden hills of the west. We will rise from the wind-swept north-east where our forefathers first realized revolution. We will rise from the lake-rimmed cities of the midwestern states. We will rise from the sun-baked south. We will rebuild, reconcile, and recover.In every known nook of our nation, in every corner called our country, our people, diverse and beautiful, will emerge, battered and beautiful.When day comes, we step out of the shade, aflame and unafraid. The new dawn blooms as we free it. For there is always light, if only we’re brave enough to see it. If only we’re brave enough to be it. More