The inauguration of President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris just wrapped up.
Now, there will be an inaugural parade — although it will be largely a virtual one. Biden and Harris will have a presidential escort from 15th Street to the White House including the US Army Band, a Joint Service Honor Guard and the commander in chief’s Guard and Fife Drum Corps. The drumlines from the University of Delaware and Howard University will join that event to honour the alma maters of the incoming president and vice president.
The parade will be hosted by “Scandal” actor Tony Goldwyn and will feature comedian Jon Stewart, New Radicals and DJ Cassidy’s “Pass the Mic” with performances by Earth Wind & Fire, Nile Rodgers, Kathy Sledge, The Trans Chorus of Los Angeles, The Washington Chorus and The Triumph Baptist Church Choir.
Amanda Gorman, the nation’s first-ever youth poet laureate, delivered a message of the country’s resilience through her poem at President Biden’s inauguration ceremony.
“Being American is more than a pride we inherit. It’s the past we step into and how we repair it,” Gorman said.
“We will not march back to what was, but move to what shall be, a country that is bruised but the whole, benevolent but bold, fierce and free. We will not be turned around or interrupted by intimidation because we know our inaction and inertia will become the future,” she continued.
Typically, Gorman, who is 22 years old, said it takes her days to craft a new poem. She finished this one immediately.
“We will rebuild, reconcile and recover,” Gorman said in the poem.
Joe Biden vowed that as president, he will commit to being transparent to the American people in his closing remarks.
“My fellow Americans, I close today where I began, with the sacred oath before God and all of you, I give you my word. I will always level with you,” he said during his inauguration address.
Biden promised to defend America for the “public good.”
“I will defend the Constitution. I’ll defend our democracy. I’ll defend America. And I’ll give all, all of you, keep everything I do in your service, thinking not of power, but of possibilities. Not of personal interest, but the public good. And together we shall write an American story of hope, not fear, of unity, not division. Of light, not darkness. A story of decency and dignity, love and healing, greatness and goodness,” he said.
He ended on a message for Americans, saying that they met the moment.
“May this be the story that guides us, the story that inspires and the stories that tell ages yet to come that we answered the call of history. We met the moment, democracy and hope, truth and justice did not die on our watch but thrived, that America secured liberty at home and stood once again as a beacon to the world. That is what we owe our forebearers, one another and generations to follow. With purpose and resolve, we turn to those tasks of our time, sustained by faith, driven by conviction and devoted to one another and the country we love with all hearts,” Biden said.