President Obama has selected an Atlanta pastor and the widow of a slain civil rights leader to deliver the invocation and benediction at his inauguration.
Myrlie Evers-Williams, former chair of the NAACP and widow of Medgar Evers, will deliver the invocation, and the Rev. Louie Giglio of Passion City Church in Atlanta will deliver the benediction, the inaugural committee announced Tuesday.
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Evers-Williams fought for justice for 30 years after her husband, the Mississippi field secretary for the NAACP, was gunned down in his driveway in 1963. She authored three books about their civil rights work.
Giglio founded Passion Conferences, a movement gathering college-aged young people and raising awareness about modern-day slavery, human trafficking.
“Vice President Biden and I are honored that Myrlie Evers-Williams and Rev. Louie Giglio will participate in the Inaugural ceremony,” Obama said in a statement. “Their voices have inspired many people across this great nation within the faith community and beyond. Their careers reflect the ideals that the Vice President and I continue to pursue for all Americans – justice, equality, and opportunity.”
The ceremonial swearing-in at the Capitol Jan. 21 falls on Martin Luther King Jr Day.
