Photograph by Philip Montgomery for TIME.

Straight from the Inauguration. Standing by what Senator Amy Klobuchar called “the glorious field of flags,” Andrea Blackwelder Stanley describes what it meant to be a part of history. Blackwelder Stanley, union crew chief of IATSE Local 22, her fellow members and three other unions are responsible for the stunning American and state flags in front of the Capitol steps.

“For many of my IATSE union kin, this is the first work that has been available since March 1, 2020,” Blackwelder Stanley tells us. “In many ways, the display represents opportunity. Opportunity to earn a living wage and to make something beautiful to lift the hearts and spirits of a nation that is mourning so much loss and division. To me, it represents all the people of the USA coming together as one to be healed.”