Howard band members still marching with pride after inauguration
A Howard University graduate from Atlanta remembers the historic inauguration of Vice President Kamala Harris.
WASHINGTON, D.C. - It was the moment drummer A.J. Orea has been dreaming about since elementary school one he envisioned over and over again during his years at Atlanta s Westlake High School. I was more so excited than anything because this is a performance that I have dreamed about doing for years ever since I saw Howard perform in Obama s inauguration back in 2009, said Orea, a Sophomore who is majoring in Mechanical Engineering.
The Atlanta native couldn t have imagined his Inaugural Parade debut would come with the pride of escorting Howard University graduate Kamala Harris after she was sworn in as the nation s first female Vice President. Harris graduated from the historically Black university in 1986 with a Bachelor s Degree in Political Science and Economics.
January 20th, 2021 by KRNB
Alex Wong/Getty ImagesHoward University alumna
Kamala Harris was officially introduced as the 49th Vice President of the United States on Wednesday morning at her alma mater in Washington, D.C., as the school bell rang 49 times to honor the historic moment.
Harris is the first woman Vice President and the first person of Black and South Asian descent to hold this office after she was sworn in on Inauguration Day by Supreme Court Justice
Sonia Sotomayor.She was escorted to the inauguration ceremony by the university’s renowned marching band, the Showtime Marching Band.
“Throughout her career, the Vice president-elect has carried her Howard education with her, ensuring that she adhere to truth and service and inspiring her to achieve unprecedented levels of excellence,” said Howard University President
Kamala Harris will be an all-Howard University affair. Not only will Harris become the first Howard University graduate to serve as Vice President, but she will also be joined by Howard University s Showtime Marching Band. The band will perform a special drum cadence for the 59th presidential inauguration.
“It is our esteemed honor to be involved in the historic inauguration of President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris,” Howard University
Wayne A. I. Frederick said.
“Throughout her career, the vice president-elect has carried her Howard education with her, ensuring that she adhere to truth and service and inspiring her to achieve unprecedented levels of excellence. It is perfectly fitting that the Showtime Marching Band, the ensemble that captures and reverberates the heartbeat of our institution, should accompany her on this last leg of her journey to the White House. It was that steady pulse of her Alma Mater’s legacy that propelled her forward, a
Kamala Harris at the 59th presidential inauguration on Wednesday (Jan. 20).
“It is our esteemed honor to be involved in the historic inauguration of President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris,” said Howard President
Wayne A. I. Frederick in a press release. “Throughout her career, the vice president-elect has carried her Howard education with her, ensuring that she adhere to truth and service and inspiring her to achieve unprecedented levels of excellence.”
He continued, “It is perfectly fitting that the Showtime Marching Band, the ensemble that captures and reverberates the heartbeat of our institution, should accompany her on this last leg of her journey to the White House.”