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Inauguration of Joe Biden: What we know about January 20
Due to COVID-19, and now to security concerns after a pro-Trump crowd violating the Capitol, this year’s inauguration will look different from previous years.
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WASHINGTON – It was a quiet but uncomfortable holiday for Joan Lee.
“I can’t put it into words. It hurts my heart,” said Lee as he scanned the barricades lining Black Lives Matter Plaza.
The Washington resident came here on a Martin Luther King Jr. day like no other, as the threat of violence in the days leading up to President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration was looming and the COVID-19 pandemic was spreading across the U.S.
Lee, 50, said that on a normal MLK day, many could be in their communities, offering to help others in the same way that King did throughout his life or marching in parades to celebrate his birthday and legacy.
Across central Washington, however, the effects of the January 6 attack on the United States Capitol by supporters of President Donald Trump, who believe the election was rigged, could not be lost. Barricades and fences occupied the streets as police and members of the National Guard patrolled each block.
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Perhaps the most notable closure on Monday: The King Memorial on the edge of the Tidal Basin on the National Mall, which was closed to the public during the opening because of security plans and the threat of further violence.
In addition to enhanced security around the capital, COVID-19 also forced many MLK Day celebrations planned to be canceled or virtually retained. Some portraits of King were pasted on the side of the AFL-CIO building at Black Lives Matter Plaza, but no other sign of the holiday could be seen in the city center on Monday morning.
“I’m here because black life is important. Martin Luther King has done a lot for us,” said Lee as he watched the scene in the square.
Nadine Seiler, 55, who was also at the Black Lives Matter Plaza, expressed fears about what should have been a joyous day to celebrate.
“We feel that they are orchestrating some form of violence on MLK Day just to show us that they can,” said Seiler, referring to the FBI’s warning of the threat of extremist violence in the US during Induction Day.
Seiler of Waldorf, Maryland, said that she and others have been in the square every day since October to protect a fence that contains many of the signs and posters of summer 2020 protests across the country after George Floyd’s death in custody police officer in Minneapolis.
The police response during the Capitol rebellion was a “total juxtaposition” compared to the response outside the White House during racial justice protests, she said.
“They were allowed to enter the Capitol, but we were unable to reach the Lincoln Memorial,” said Seiler. “They were polluting us too much.”
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The plaza became a national focal point during racial justice protests when Trump stood for pictures in front of St. John’s Church after police removed peaceful protesters from and around Lafayette Park using physical force and chemical agents.
In the following days, DC Mayor Muriel Bowser renamed Black Lives Matter Plaza, with the words painted in yellow, bold on the sidewalk. Anti-Trump protesters remained nearby, despite the White House erecting a new security fence around its perimeter.
Since the unrest, Seiler said he believes he has not changed much in the fight for racial justice. She pointed to a memorial in the square for Patrick Warren Sr., a black man shot to death by a police officer in Killeen, Texas, who was answering a mental health call.
Still, Seiler said, she hoped Biden would take a step in the right direction. Before the January 6 riot, she said she saw Biden as “a good boy”, focused more on political connections. She said she believed that the riot, and especially the disparate police response compared to the summer social justice protests, affected him.
“I feel like it moved the needle a little bit, but I don’t know how much,” said Seiler.
Ira Turner, 53, was on the other side of the city near the US Capitol on Monday. He traveled from New York to Washington on his day off just to see the fences and the presence of the National Guard.
“This is what Trump wanted,” said Tuner.
“How can you block Capitol? This cannot be possible,” he added.
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Turner, a Coast Guard veteran, said he went to see other veterans, including a retired Air Force lieutenant colonel, who most disgusted him during the riot.
“This country fed you … And is that how you repay this country?”
Although Turner said he was shocked by the actions, he saw this as another part of the Trump presidency, which he said represented some people’s rejection of having had a black president.
Turner reflected on Trump’s slogan “Make America Great Again”: “As a person of color, what does that mean?”
As he walked through the capital, Turner said that King’s birthday and legacy were on his mind. King would have been happy to see Kamala Harris become the country’s first black vice president, but was saddened by the military presence on the streets of the country’s capital, he said.
“When Dr. King gave his speech during the march in Washington, everyone was behaving properly,” said Turner. “Nobody broke into the Capitol.”
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