Washington, D.C.'s National Mall has been transformed into a sea of white to honor the lives lost to COVID-19 in the U.S.—more than 670,000 of them. Image
An early form of the memorial was first displayed by artist Suzanne Brennan Firstenberg in October 2020 outside of RFK Stadium.
Since then, the number of flags symbolizing someone lost to COVID-19 has dramatically—and sadly—increased. Firstenberg says she was inspired to create the installations after a Texas official said the economy was worth Americans risking dying of COVID-19.
'I just felt as though someone had to do something to make a statement that with all these people dying, we had to value each of these lives as well,' according to NPR.
Family members and friends of COVID-19 victims have left small messages on the flags. Some of the flags have even been selected to be displayed at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History.
The flag installation will be on display from September 17 to October 3, 2021, per Firstenberg's website.

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17 Sep
There's da Vinci's 'Mona Lisa,' and then there's Nick Walker's 'Moona Lisa.'

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Nona Gaprindashvili, a former Georgian chess master who's now in her 80s, filed a $5M lawsuit against Netflix for being misrepresented in the popular chess-themed show, according to The New York Times.
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'Queen of Salsa' Celia Cruz and award-winning novelist Julia Alvarez are some of the latest Barbies in honor of #HispanicHeritageMonth Image
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At 275 feet high and 102 feet around the base, the mighty General Sherman sequoia tree in Sequoia National Park, California, stands stoically as wildfire approaches the park. Image
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