Photographs by Tracie Williams

After four turbulent years, Trump left behind a fortified city and a mortified nation. Streets usually filled with jubilation, demonstrations and sometimes confrontations, were nearly completely empty save for the members of the press and a few on-lookers. The Natioal Guard, Secret Service and Capitol Police secured the perimeter that extended far beyond the White House, Capitol Hill and the Washington Monument, awaiting a second mob of pro-Trump insurrectionists which never manifested. Journalists had spent weeks preparing to report in a hostile environment, zooming security trainings that would usually be reserved for war-time reporting, and toting helmets, gas masks and bullet proof vests now rendered superfluous. In a desolate intersection, with only two other photographers, I watched Biden be sworn in as the 46th President on an iPhone, as the usual inaugural fanfare was limited to only a few. At this moment the air began to shift and become lighter. A country now somewhat at ease, but not totally at peace. Moved by the spoken words of Amanda Gorman I recalled just hearing moments before, there was some sense of hope. “If we merge mercy with might, and might with right, then love becomes our legacy.”