Amid both the COVID-19 pandemic and security concerns, Biden’s inaugural committee installed roughly 191,500 flags on the National Mall to fill the space usually occupied by thousands of supporters. The remarkable display located between the Washington Monument and the Capitol Building where Biden will be sworn in includes American flags of varying sizes, as well as flags representing every U.S. state and territory.
However, it’s not a coincidence that the so-called “Field of Flags” may look particularly familiar to Bay Staters. Advertisement
That’s because it takes inspiration from the Boston Common’s annual Memorial Day flag garden.
The memorial marks the first large-scale acknowledgment of Covid-19’s massive toll on individuals, families and communities across the US. President-elect Biden’s recognition of the tragedy stands in stark contrast to Donald Trump, who repeatedly downplayed the dangers of coronavirus amid a botched response by his administration that frequently included peddling conspiracy theories and denialism.
“We gather tonight, a nation in mourning, to pay tribute to lives we have lost, a grandmother or grandfather who is our whole world, a parent, partner, sibling or friend who we still cannot accept is no longer here, and for many months we have grieved by ourselves,” said Vice-president elect Kamala Harris at the memorial. “Tonight, we grieve and begin healing together.”