The National Museum of African American History and Culture, Washington DC. Photograph: The Washington Post/Getty Images

January 19 National Mall Peace Ball

It's difficult to get coverage on pre Saturday Jan. 21 marches with the Inauguration of Donald Trump dominating Friday's coverage. A major event happened in Washington last night, one with many more celebs and performers than any Trump event. The Peace Ball was hosted at the freshly opened National Museum of African American History and Culture was organized as a progressive alternative to Trump events around the city.

Angela Davis -- who will also be a featured speaker at Saturday's Women's March -- was joined by Solange Knowles, Amy Goodman, Van Jones, Melissa Harris-Perry and special performances by Esperanza Spalding, the jazz bassist and singer, and Solange.

Spalding—the first non-fusion jazz performer to ever win the Grammy for Best New Artist, beating out Justin Bieber in 2011—connected with Vogue.com earlier this week to share her ambitions for tonight’s party, what she’ll be fighting for over the course of the next four years, and why it’s so particularly hard to see the Obamas go.

Why is the Peace Ball important, and what kind of message are you trying to send?

There’s this idea called “we the people,” and I really love the “we” in that phrase, because it doesn’t wave the flag of “us” or “them.” I think I have fallen into the bad habit of thinking of myself as an “us” and actually identifying other fellow citizens as “them.” That can’t work in a system of democracy that is built on the ideal of “we.” That’s an ideal that obviously we’ve struggled with as a people here in the United States of America. And what I see in this Peace Ball is an idea of a “we” to celebrate. To say, “Yeah, this is our president. This is a part of our ‘we.’” But this Peace Ball is also a part of that “we.” That’s why I wanted to be a part of it, and that’s why I’m excited to be in D.C. at this time, because I’m ready to start practicing what “we” actually means.

Related Coverage: The Peace Ball: black brilliance and resistance on the eve of the Trump era The Guardian

Solange and Esperanza Spalding Performed at the Inaugural Peace Ball in Washington, DC New York Magazine

Major New York Protest Against Trump Sends Him To DC

A crowd of some 25,000 people gathered on inauguration eve in the streets surrounding Manhattan's Trump International Hotel and Tower for a 'We Stand United' Rally. The event was led by New York Mayor Bill de Blasio and Michael Moore.

Stars including Robert De Niro, Alex Baldwin, Mark Ruffalo, Sally Field, Julianne Moore, Cynthia Nixon, Shailene Woodley, Rosie Perez, Marisa Tomei and Cher took turns introducing progressive leaders who spoke to issues of urgency in a Trump administration. The demonstration kicked off around 6:30 with Rosie Perez at the helm, writes The Daily Beast:

“The world is watching, and we want to let them know our voices matters,” she said, before handing the stage over to fellow New York native Robert DeNiro, who called the president-elect “a bad example of this country, this city,” drawing cheers from the audience. “We’re all rooting for the incoming administration to abandon his racist, misogynist, divisive rhetoric... we patriots will stand for the rights of our fellow citizens!”