Politics

Inaugural Parade Showcases American Diversity

WASHINGTON, DC – As the United States’ first African-American president is inaugurated for his second term, the nation’s diversity will be on full display. An engineering company founded by Iranian-American immigrant Farrokh Khatami is building the reviewing stand where the president and special guests sit to review the marching groups. That company, Capitol Engineering Group, also built the stand for the 2009 inaugural, as seen here.

Coming down Pennsylvania Avenue, the boulevard linking the Capitol to the White House, parade units present a cavalcade of regional and ethnic color, music and costumes. Fife-and-drum groups, as seen here, represent traditional American music, while nontraditional groups bring colorful examples of national diversity. This year, they include a Chinese-American folk dance troupe, a lesbian-gay band, Native American women warriors, a Tex-Mex mariachi group and a lion-and-dragon dance association.

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