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You are here: Home / Politics / Politicans / President Biden / Covid-19 Memorial Live Event

Covid-19 Memorial Live Event

by TaMara|  January 19, 20215:03 pm| 75 Comments

This post is in: President Biden, Vice-President Harris

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Covid-19 Memorial Live Event

 

On January 19 at 5:30pm (local time), we invite Americans across the country to come together for a national moment of unity and remembrance to honor the lives lost to COVID-19.

In Washington, D.C., we will host a ceremony with President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Harris, featuring the first-ever lighting of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool to honor and remember those who have died. You can watch live on Biden Inaugural social media channels.

We encourage Americans to join us in lighting a candle in your window for this nationwide moment of remembrance. Share the word and invite your family, friends, and loved ones to join us for the COVID-19 Memorial.

I am so relieved, as I am sure you all are, to have people in office who understand the gravity of the pandemic. And they have a plan.

May this memorial be the beginning of a path forward for all of us and healing for those who have lost so much.

While we wait, some photos from the mall:

Covid-19 Memorial Live Event 5

Covid-19 Memorial Live Event 4
Covid-19 Memorial Live Event 3
Covid-19 Memorial Live Event 2
Covid-19 Memorial Live Event 1
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Reader Interactions

75Comments

  1. 1.

    narya

    January 19, 2021 at 5:06 pm

    So am I supposed to light my candle at 5:30 MY time, or 5:30 EST? It sounded originally like it was supposed to be the latter. No worries–I’m happy to light a candle in the darkness, and in memoriam, no matter the time zone.

  2. 2.

    Baud

    January 19, 2021 at 5:09 pm

    The photos of the mall are stunning.

  3. 3.

    TaMara (HFG)

    January 19, 2021 at 5:10 pm

    @narya: I think the candle lighting is local time…so 5:30 your time.

  4. 4.

    TaMara (HFG)

    January 19, 2021 at 5:10 pm

    MSNBC is showing some beautiful “golden hour” visuals of the mall and Capitol.

  5. 5.

    Miss Bianca

    January 19, 2021 at 5:12 pm

    I’m starting to tear up just looking at the flags. I have a feeling I’m going to just start bursting into tears at random intervals for a while as I get used to the idea that we have a POTUS inviting us to experience things AS A COUNTRY again.

  6. 6.

    Mary G

    January 19, 2021 at 5:14 pm

    Putting out the flags was genius, and looking at the sea of them and knowing that twice as many Americans have died of Covid19 is sobering.

  7. 7.

    TaMara (HFG)

    January 19, 2021 at 5:15 pm

    @Miss Bianca: I’m probably not going to make it through Amazing Grace.

  8. 8.

    JPL

    January 19, 2021 at 5:16 pm

    When he was descending the plane, I felt an emotion that has been sorely lacking during the trump years. I felt proud.

  9. 9.

    debbie

    January 19, 2021 at 5:19 pm

    Seeing the scale of death as represented by the flags (as opposed to numbers on charts) is horrifying.

  10. 10.

    VeniceRiley

    January 19, 2021 at 5:20 pm

    2:30 Pacific? Nope. Won’t be home from work. I wish they’d think of us more when it comes to national participation things like this.

  11. 11.

    NotMax

    January 19, 2021 at 5:20 pm

    The barriers I can understand. Don’t like them but can understand them.

    The razor wire is, IMHO, a giant step too far. Setting sun glinting off that creates a picture which cannot be made anything but disheartening.

  12. 12.

    Skepticat

    January 19, 2021 at 5:21 pm

    Stunning, creative, and ingenious

  13. 13.

    NotMax

    January 19, 2021 at 5:23 pm

    @JPL

    The day the music died revived.

  14. 14.

    Miss Bianca

    January 19, 2021 at 5:24 pm

    @JPL: Proud! And excited. And thankful.

    It’s going to take a long time to recover from the scourge of Trumpism, but I feel it starting.

  15. 15.

    Feathers

    January 19, 2021 at 5:26 pm

    I have a candle, but I’m realizing I have no matches, nor a lighter. Sigh.

  16. 16.

    Steeplejack (phone)

    January 19, 2021 at 5:28 pm

    @VeniceRiley:

    The first sentence says “local time,” so that’s 5:30 for you, too.

  17. 17.

    TaMara (HFG)

    January 19, 2021 at 5:28 pm

    @Feathers: Due to the critter count here, all my candles are battery operated. Had to put out one too many cat-tail fire.

  18. 18.

    dmsilev

    January 19, 2021 at 5:30 pm

    Just hearing sane decent people and knowing that in less than day they’ll be running things is a balm to the soul.

  19. 19.

    EmbraceYourInnerCrone

    January 19, 2021 at 5:30 pm

    @TaMara (HFG): me neither

  20. 20.

    Steeplejack (phone)

    January 19, 2021 at 5:31 pm

    @TaMara (HFG):

    I do have to say that it is briefly hilarious—but still horrifying—to see a cat with that “What’s that burning smell?” look on their face.

  21. 21.

    dmsilev

    January 19, 2021 at 5:32 pm

    @Feathers: Propane torch? Flint? Two sticks to rub together? 10 watt laser? Fresnel lens for focusing sunlight?

  22. 22.

    narya

    January 19, 2021 at 5:34 pm

    i went ahead and lit mine early. An extra hour of candlelight won’t fix a damn thing, but there it is.

  23. 23.

    CaseyL

    January 19, 2021 at 5:35 pm

    Oh, god.  Those lanterns all lighting.

    And now she’s singing Hallelulah.

    Oh, jeez, I am gonna be a soggy mess.

  24. 24.

    TaMara (HFG)

    January 19, 2021 at 5:35 pm

    OMG, the luminarias … and now Hallelujah… I’m not going to get any work done.

    And Boston lights…and NYC lights…

    ?

  25. 25.

    mali muso

    January 19, 2021 at 5:36 pm

    Dammit, this is the kind of stuff that a functional government would have already done.  That said, it’s so refreshing to have adults in charge again.

  26. 26.

    SiubhanDuinne

    January 19, 2021 at 5:36 pm

    @TaMara (HFG):

    I didn’t make it through Halleluia. I’m a blubbering mess at this point.

  27. 27.

    Baud

    January 19, 2021 at 5:36 pm

    I’m so glad the weather cooperated.

  28. 28.

    TaMara (HFG)

    January 19, 2021 at 5:38 pm

    Oh, good, all the networks are covering it, not just cable…

  29. 29.

    West of the Cascades

    January 19, 2021 at 5:38 pm

    “If there are any angels in heaven, they’re nurses. We know that from our family’s experiences.”

    Lori Marie Key’s rendition of “Amazing Grace” took me from sniffling to bawling. A soon-to-be-President taking a moment to connect with her eloquently … we are gaining so much at noon tomorrow.

    So beautiful. Basically a perfect memorial in its simplicity and humanity.

  30. 30.

    Raven

    January 19, 2021 at 5:38 pm

    Short, sweet and not about him.

  31. 31.

    SiubhanDuinne

    January 19, 2021 at 5:39 pm

    @VeniceRiley:

    No, it’s 5:30 LOCAL time. You’re fine.

  32. 32.

    M31

    January 19, 2021 at 5:39 pm

    tearing up at the words and the music, but also full of rage that Trump murdered 1/2 a million people

    I almost said ‘it’s beyond belief’ but because I know what Republicans are and what Trump is, it’s not beyond belief at all

  33. 33.

    SiubhanDuinne

    January 19, 2021 at 5:40 pm

    @TaMara (HFG):

    I had a cat that was forever setting his eyebrows and whiskers to smouldering. Such a lovely aroma…

  34. 34.

    What Have The Romans Ever Done for Us?

    January 19, 2021 at 5:41 pm

    Very fitting tribute.

  35. 35.

    rjnerd

    January 19, 2021 at 5:41 pm

    Candle lit, handbells sounded 410 times.  Several friends are sounding the bells (big ones) at old north church.  (they are housemates to eliminate risk, I would have been there otherwise).  I do hope they found a band to ring the congressional set.  (10 bells, copies of the set at Westminster, a bicentennial gift from the UK.  Installed in what was then the old post office, now the Trump hotel).

  36. 36.

    NotMax

    January 19, 2021 at 5:41 pm

    @Raven

    and not about him

    Presidents can do that?

    :)

  37. 37.

    Almost Retired

    January 19, 2021 at 5:41 pm

    Oh my God, that was beautiful and pitch perfect.  I have hope.

  38. 38.

    gkoutnik

    January 19, 2021 at 5:42 pm

    We have waited a year for our President to acknowledge and help us mourn our dead. Thank you, Joe.

  39. 39.

    Mike in NC

    January 19, 2021 at 5:44 pm

    Guessing there will be zero candles lit at Mar-A-Lardass.

  40. 40.

    Ohio Mom

    January 19, 2021 at 5:44 pm

    I can’t help but think of all the candles as a huge national smudging.

  41. 41.

    debbie

    January 19, 2021 at 5:44 pm

    @NotMax:

    Not too much. Assholes are afoot.

  42. 42.

    debbie

    January 19, 2021 at 5:45 pm

    I’m old. Who’s singing Hallelujah?

  43. 43.

    SiubhanDuinne

    January 19, 2021 at 5:45 pm

    The luminaria are beautiful. And the nation’s great monuments in the golden crepuscular light.

  44. 44.

    leeleeFL

    January 19, 2021 at 5:45 pm

    @Miss Bianca: I have been doing that all day today.  The Memorial broke the dam, but it’s been trickling all day.  The relief of the departure of that awful excuse for anything is affecting me more than I thought it would.  I thought I was too angry to cry.   Joe knows….he’s giving us permission to grieve and he’s grieving with us.  What a difference!

  45. 45.

    WaterGirl

    January 19, 2021 at 5:46 pm

    @VeniceRiley: They are saying LOCAL time.  So whenever it’s 5:30 where you are, that’s the time for this.

  46. 46.

    SiubhanDuinne

    January 19, 2021 at 5:49 pm

    @Ohio Mom:

    Lovely thought. Smudging our country.

  47. 47.

    JanieM

    January 19, 2021 at 5:50 pm

    @debbie: I’m old too, but I think it’s Beyoncé.

  48. 48.

    leeleeFL

    January 19, 2021 at 5:51 pm

    @SiubhanDuinne: YES!  Like burning a forest of sage!

  49. 49.

    debbie

    January 19, 2021 at 5:52 pm

    @JanieM:

    Google has saved us both! It was gospel singer Yolanda Adams.

  50. 50.

    Phylllis

    January 19, 2021 at 5:53 pm

    @JanieM: It was Yolanda Adams; gospel singer.

  51. 51.

    Bluegirlfromwyo

    January 19, 2021 at 5:54 pm

    @Miss Bianca: I hear you. Having a president who allows us to mourn our dead instead of deny them is such a relief… and a heartbreaker that our country has been denied it this long. I’ve been crying at random intervals since November 8.

  52. 52.

    SiubhanDuinne

    January 19, 2021 at 5:55 pm

    @leeleeFL:

    Nice image.

  53. 53.

    Uncle Cosmo

    January 19, 2021 at 5:56 pm

    @Feathers: I have a candle, but I’m realizing I have no matches, nor a lighter. Sigh.

    Do you have a gas range? Light a burner & light the candle from there. Even an electric burner might work if you turn it up high & hold the wick to a coil.

  54. 54.

    JanieM

    January 19, 2021 at 5:57 pm

    @debbie:

    @Phylllis:

    Cool! So much for my contemporary culture cred (which was nil to begin with). I wonder why they didn’t identify her.

    Oh well, off to find some more tissues.

  55. 55.

    Brachiator

    January 19, 2021 at 5:58 pm

    Working, so only able to take a peek at this, but it is moving, thoughtful.

  56. 56.

    JPL

    January 19, 2021 at 6:00 pm

    Michael Beschloss

    Relief to watch a President of the United States display emotions other than anger.

  57. 57.

    Another Scott

    January 19, 2021 at 6:01 pm

    @Raven: I just watched the clip above (Love It or List It is on the TV).

    Biden was perfect.

    “In order for us to heal, we must remember.”

    Yes.

    Very moving, very well done.

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  58. 58.

    cain

    January 19, 2021 at 6:05 pm

    @Bluegirlfromwyo:

    I think what really struck me was that at no time did we ever stop to mourn the 400k Americans who have died from this disease.

    I feel ashamed as a country that it took us so long to be able to do that.

  59. 59.

    bluefoot

    January 19, 2021 at 6:06 pm

    @dmsilev: Once I was at the forge and no one had a lighter or matches….so we ended up using a flame cutter to light the forge.  Total overkill.

    Amazing Grace always brings me to tears.  And Hallelujah is worse. (better?)

    Those lanterns are beautiful.

  60. 60.

    Miss Bianca

    January 19, 2021 at 6:11 pm

    @Ohio Mom:

    I can’t help but think of all the candles as a huge national smudging.

    What a great way to think about it. Now I’m definitely going to find a candle instead of just putting my little Christmas tree light in the window

    ETA: And what a lovely little service. Short, sweet, to the point. I’m all teary all over again!

  61. 61.

    Steve in the ATL

    January 19, 2021 at 6:12 pm

    @NotMax: oh, like you never wrapped a guy in razor wire, locked him in the trunk of a car, and set the car on fire.

    hmmm…or are zhenia gogolia and I the only Russian mobsters on B-J?

  62. 62.

    Leto

    January 19, 2021 at 6:12 pm

    @JPL: what, groveling/bootlicking/sucking-up don’t count???

  63. 63.

    Mo Salad

    January 19, 2021 at 6:15 pm

    @Feathers: Do you have a 9-volt battery and a safety pin or needle that you are willing to sacrifice?

    Drape the needle across the terminals and watch it heat up like an old school car cigarette lighter.

  64. 64.

    WV Blondie

    January 19, 2021 at 6:19 pm

    I commented on FB that one way you know the Orange Slime God and his worshippers are evil is because they could never produce such a moment of healing and grace.

  65. 65.

    Bluegirlfromwyo

    January 19, 2021 at 6:23 pm

    @cain: I’m ashamed that we have so many who explain it away, can’t be bothered, or think it’s okay.

  66. 66.

    zhena gogolia

    January 19, 2021 at 6:32 pm

    Wow, beautiful service. Thank you.

  67. 67.

    zhena gogolia

    January 19, 2021 at 6:33 pm

    @Raven:

    YES

  68. 68.

    zhena gogolia

    January 19, 2021 at 6:34 pm

    @debbie:

    I see this was answered. It’s Yolanda Adams — she also sang at Aretha Franklin’s funeral.

  69. 69.

    zhena gogolia

    January 19, 2021 at 6:35 pm

    @JanieM:

    Biden said her name at the beginning of his remarks.

  70. 70.

    Chetan Murthy

    January 19, 2021 at 6:40 pm

    I can’t be the only one who noticed that every speaker except Uncle Joe was a person of color?  It’s like an in-your-face repudiation of the Twelfth Night Insurrection.

  71. 71.

    zhena gogolia

    January 19, 2021 at 6:41 pm

    @Chetan Murthy:

    I noticed.

  72. 72.

    something fabulous

    January 19, 2021 at 7:25 pm

    @dmsilev: paper towel twist, applied to stove. Ask me how I know!

  73. 73.

    Scamp Dog

    January 19, 2021 at 7:48 pm

    I’m at work here in Colorado, but we’re right next door to a grocery store, so I bought a candle and a lighter and put it in the office window (5:40 here by the time I got back, lit it, etc.).

  74. 74.

    jnfr

    January 19, 2021 at 9:36 pm

    I love all these pictures so much. I thought the lights and flags on the Mall were inspired. And the COVID memorial was just enough, moving and beautiful and spare so you could feel the loss.

    @Scamp Dog:

    I also lit my candle and rang my little bell.

  75. 75.

    Ruckus

    January 19, 2021 at 10:15 pm

    @Steve in the ATL:

    I have seen a man climb a six foot plus high chain link fence with razor wire strung on both sides of the top, in bare feet, without cutting himself or any clothing. I believe that he’d done this before as he took his shoes off before climbing. Before this I’d thought razor wire was pretty much the last word in keeping the rife raff out. He didn’t even look like he worked at it at all.

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