News
Watch: Biden and Harris Families Hold Nationwide Moment of Silence to Honor 500,000 Americans Who Have Died of COVID

President Joe Biden, First Lady Jill Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, and Second Gentleman Douglas Emhoff on Monday evening at sunset held a moment of silence at a candle-lighting ceremony to honor the 500,000 Americans who have now died from the coronavirus.
The stairs at the South Portico of the White House were filled with candles in memory of those who have died.
White House Moment of Silence for 500,000 U.S. COVID-19 Deaths https://t.co/ratQewaFug pic.twitter.com/ykICwZzRTS
— CSPAN (@cspan) February 22, 2021
Tonight: Candle lighting ceremony at White House to remember 500,000 U.S. COVID deaths pic.twitter.com/27OVn4Vfbu
— Howard Mortman (@HowardMortman) February 22, 2021
WATCH: Pres. Biden, Vice Pres. Harris, First Lady Jill Biden, and Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff gather outside the White House for a moment of silence to mark the sobering death toll of over 500,000 COVID-19 deaths. https://t.co/uQXxTTkuNM pic.twitter.com/3W5As8tIns
— This Week (@ThisWeekABC) February 22, 2021
Minutes earlier President Biden delivered a short speech meant to comfort those grieving the loss of a loved one to COVID-19.
“We often hear people described as ordinary Americans. There’s no such thing. There’s nothing ordinary about them. The people we lost were extraordinary,” President Biden said.
Biden mourned the lives lost, acknowledging that so many of the “took their final breath alone.”
Pres. Biden: “The people we lost were extraordinary. They spanned generations…We have to resist becoming numb to the sorrow.” https://t.co/JOonqkv1Qb pic.twitter.com/jAiPHpIkZr
— ABC News (@ABC) February 22, 2021
“I know it’s hard, I remember. That’s how you heal, you have to remember.”
He also said they are never “truly gone” because they “have become part of your heart.”
“We have to fight this together, as one people, as the united states of America,” he said, stressing “united.”
“This nation will know joy again,” he said. “We will get through this, I promise you.”
President Biden addresses the U.S. COVID-19 death toll topping 500,000: "That's more Americans who have died in one year in this pandemic than in World War I, World War II and the Vietnam War combined" https://t.co/gJ2gaIJ9A4 pic.twitter.com/iIEgzL3yQl
— CBS News (@CBSNews) February 22, 2021
Enjoy this piece?
… then let us make a small request. The New Civil Rights Movement depends on readers like you to meet our ongoing expenses and continue producing quality progressive journalism. Three Silicon Valley giants consume 70 percent of all online advertising dollars, so we need your help to continue doing what we do.
NCRM is independent. You won’t find mainstream media bias here. From unflinching coverage of religious extremism, to spotlighting efforts to roll back our rights, NCRM continues to speak truth to power. America needs independent voices like NCRM to be sure no one is forgotten.
Every reader contribution, whatever the amount, makes a tremendous difference. Help ensure NCRM remains independent long into the future. Support progressive journalism with a one-time contribution to NCRM, or click here to become a subscriber. Thank you. Click here to donate by check.
![]() |