Jan. 20 marked an Inauguration Day like no other — there was a deluge of security measures because of the Jan. 6 riots at the U.S. Capitol; Donald Trump became the first outgoing president in 152 years to skip his successor’s inauguration; and history was made when Kamala D. Harris, the country’s first female vice president, was sworn in.
But perhaps most obvious difference was that this event took place during a pandemic, one that has killed more than 400,000 Americans. While the event usually has hundreds of thousands of people swarm the nation’s capital, President Biden and Vice President Harris’s inauguration was limited to about 1,000 attendees.
Still, many people were watching from their homes, on their phones or via computers at their workplaces. We wanted to know what was taking place in intimate, candid messages between friends, so we reached out to women across the country who were willing to share their group texts from the inauguration. From a set of Alpha Kappa Alpha sisters (Harris’s sorority) to a group of young climate activists, here’s what they had to say.
Meet the group texts:
A group of Alpha Kappa Alpha sisters living in the Detroit metro area.
A group of Republican women who voted for Biden and live in Ohio.
A group of LGBTQ college students living in New York City.
A group of teen climate activists located across the country.
A pair of Indian friends who recently graduated college and live in Chicago and on the East Coast.
Note: Given the format, last names have been redacted to allow participants to express their political views openly.
Ahead of the inaugural events
On Wednesday morning, Trump officially left the White House and gave a final speech before boarding Air Force One at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland. He praised what he called his administration’s accomplishments and said, “We will be back in some form.”
From the group of Alpha Kappa Alpha sisters:
January 20, 2021
From the group of Republican women who voted for Biden (as they watched Trump’s final speech):
January 20, 2021
From the group of LGBTQ college students:
January 20, 2021
Harris and Biden arrive at the U.S. Capitol
Biden and Harris’s families arrived at the Capitol around 11:30 a.m. with other notable figures — including former presidents Barack Obama, Bill Clinton and George W. Bush and their families. Much attention was paid to fashion choices. Harris, former first lady Michelle Obama and former presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, for example, all wore purple — a sign of bipartisanship. And Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Calif.) donned the pearls of Shirley Chisholm, the first Black woman elected to Congress.
From the group of Republican women who voted for Biden:
January 20, 2021
From the group of AKA sisters:
January 20, 2021
From the group of climate activists:
January 20, 2021
The inauguration ceremony
As former presidents and Supreme Court justices took their seats, the official ceremony began. It included performances of the national anthem by Lady Gaga and a medley of “This Land Is Your Land” and “America, the Beautiful” by Jennifer Lopez. To much fanfare, Amanda Gorman, the first Youth Poet Laureate, also read her inaugural poem, “The Hill We Climb.”
From the group of AKA sisters:
January 20, 2021
From the group of LGBTQ college students:
January 20, 2021
Harris’s historic swearing-in
On Wednesday, Harris didn’t only become the first female vice president — she also became the first Black person and Indian American to hold an office that had been previously occupied solely by White men. This part of the ceremony was also history-making: Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor, the first Latina to serve on the nation’s highest court, swore Harris in.
From the group of AKA sisters:
January 20, 2021
From the pair of Indian friends who recently graduated college:
January 20, 2021
Biden’s inaugural address
In his first speech as president of the United States, Biden emphasized the need to unify as a country. He called on the country to end its “uncivil war” and embrace a united front as we contend with the coronavirus pandemic, a reckoning on racial justice, a struggling economy and more.
From the group of LGBTQ college students:
January 20, 2021
From the group of Republicans who voted for Biden:
January 20, 2021
From the group of AKA sisters:
January 20, 2021