Fire Captain receives praise for leading Pledge of Allegiance in sign language at inauguration

Apart from officially ushering in a new administration to handle the affairs of the United States over the next four years, the Inauguration Day on Wednesday also notably saw quite a few historic moments.

The highlight of the day may have been Kamala Harris becoming the first woman, first Black American and first South Asian American to hold the office of Vice President but 22-year-old Amanda Gorman also wrote her name in the history books after she became the youngest poet to recite an original poem at a presidential inauguration.

Another memorable moment also came when a Georgia fire captain, Andrea Hall, simultaneously led the Pledge of Allegiance in both spoken and American Sign Language. The 28-year veteran, who is also the first Black female firefighter to serve as fire captain for the South Fulton County Fire Rescue, was approached by President Biden’s inauguration committee and the general president of the International Association of Fire Fighters to lead the pledge, 11Alive reported.

Speaking to the news outlet before the big day, the 47-year-old shared her excitement on being bestowed that responsibility.

“I am thrilled and humbled to represent firefighters and other frontline workers in the state of Georgia and the City of South Fulton,” she said. “It is a privilege and an honor to help usher in a new chapter of leadership for our country.”

In another interview with CNN, Hall also spoke about how she intended re-echo the essence and values of the pledge as her contribution towards helping mend and reconcile a visibly divided America.

“Everything it expresses, I want to embody that in that moment,” Hall said. “And just making sure that I am representing my family, my professional family here in South Fulton, representing the nation, and making sure that they understand the passion from which I speak those words about being indivisible as a nation … because that’s what it’s going to take to move our country forward.”

Watch the historic moment below:

Hall’s leading of the pledge in sign language was also praised by people on social media. Take a look at some of the reactions below: