New flags raised in Scranton, Oakland honor birthplaces of Biden, Harris

American flags will be in evidence on Wednesday when Joe Biden and Kamala Harris are sworn in as president and vice president.

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A different kind of flag was raised on Tuesday in Scranton, Pennsylvania, and Oakland, California -- the birthplaces of Biden and Harris. This one honors the incoming president and vice president and their hometowns, WNEP reported.

One flag was raised in front of Scranton City Hall, while the other was raised on the roof of Oakland City Hall during a windy day.

“This flag will fly proudly and demonstrate that we are stronger than the winds of hate or division,” Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf said as she raised the flag high above City Hall. “Nothing can blow us apart as American people.”

The flags were created by Scranton artist Ryan Hnat and Oakland artist Favianna Rodriguez and were raised at the same time in both cities.

The flag features two outstretched hands -- one black, one white -- and shows the names of both cities, WNEP reported.

“We send a loud message to the children of our city, and every city, town, and rural area in America, that you can grow up to be anything,” Schaaf said. “That you can fulfill your wildest dreams.”

“We’re so proud of Kamala Harris,” Rodriguez said. “The hands in the center represent both of our cities coming together, and it’s an invitation to imagine a better future, to work towards justice, towards equity, towards healing, toward recovery.”

Cox Media Group