Eight custom floats - featuring the the home states of the First and Second Family and key moments in the struggle for civil rights - will be featured in the Inaugural Parade.
The Presidential Inaugural Committee said today that four of the floats in the parade would honor Hawaii, President Obama's birthplace; Illinois, the birthplace of First Lady Michelle Obama, Pennsylvania, where Vice President Joe Biden was born, and Delaware, the home state of Biden and his wife, Dr. Jill Biden.
Three other floats will honor the civil rights movement, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and the Tuskeegee Airmen.
Here's more information on the floats in the parade:
- The Hawaii State Float – Hawaii is the birthplace of President Obama. The float features a large volcano modeled after the famous Diamond Head Volcano and a tribute to the late Senator Daniel Inouye.
- The Illinois State Float – Illinois is the birthplace of First Lady Michelle Obama. The float features American flags, the state flag and a panorama of the Capitol.
- The Pennsylvania State Float – Pennsylvania is the birthplace of Vice President Joe Biden. The float includes a replica of the Liberty Bell and the Pennsylvania State Seal.
- The Delaware State Float – Delaware is the home state of Vice President Joe Biden and Second Lady Dr. Jill Biden. The float includes a replica of State Capitol Bell Tower.
- The Martin Luther King, Jr. Float – The float’s design features an image of Dr. King and a representation of his quote “out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope.”
- The Civil Rights Movements Float – The Civil Rights float features images representing historic struggles of many of the civil rights movements in our country. The images represented include Immigration, Women's, LGBT, Civil and Labor Rights. The float also includes Martin Luther King's quote “The Arc of the moral universe is long but it bends toward justice."
- The Tuskegee Airmen Float – The float is a tribute to the brave young men who were the first African-American military aviators in the United States Armed Forces. The float features a model North American P-51 Mustang.
- The Inaugural Theme, “Our People. Our Future.” Float – The American people are the focus of this float. Riding on the float are the citizen co-chairs for the National Day of Service.
Also Monday, PIC released a behind-the-scenes video of the float preparation.
Local
Washington, D.C., Maryland and Virginia local news, events and information
PIC also said Charles Brotman, the voice of 14 Inaugural parades since 1957, will announce the parade from Lafayette Park.
Announcers will also be found at six additional locations along the parade route. Those announcers are: Bob Madigan from Silver Spring, Md.; Carol Renee Eubanks from Hollywood, Fla.; Jim Bohannon from Montgomery Village, Md.; Christine E. Brennan from Washington, D.C.; Robert D. Goldwater from White Plains, NY; as well as military announcers from the Joint Task Force – National Capital Region (JTF-NCR).
