President-elect Joe Biden, Vice President-elect Kamala Harris and their families will take part Tuesday in an event on the National Mall in D.C. to honor the roughly 400,000 Americans who have died from the novel coronavirus.
The Presidential Inauguration Committee announced that lighting around the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool will honor those killed by the coronavirus, with the incoming president and vice president to participate in a moment of unity at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday.
Washington Archbishop Cardinal Wilton Gregory will deliver the invocation at the memorial. Famed gospel singer Yolanda Adams will sing “Hallelujah” and Lori Marie Key with the Saint Joseph Mercy Health System in Michigan will sing “Amazing Grace.”
During the ceremony, other landmarks such as Empire State Building in New York City and the Space Needle in Seattle will be lit also, and other cities nationwide will take part as well.
Delaware State University President Tony Allen, CEO of the inauguration committee, said the memorial ceremony stresses national unity.
“The inauguration of President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris represents the beginning of a new national journey — one that renews its commitment to honor its fallen and rise toward greater heights in their honor,” Allen said. “In that spirit, it is important that we pay tribute to those we have lost — and their families — and come together to unite our country, contain this virus, and rebuild our nation.”