US President Barack Obama (C-L) and Vice-Presient Barack Obama listen to an invocation by Myrlie Evers-Williams during the 57th Presidential Inauguration ceremonial swearing-in at the US Capitol on January 21, 2013 in Washington, DC. The oath is to be administered by US Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts, Jr. Credit: AFP/Getty Images
Myrlie Evers-Williams, the widow of slain civil rights activist Medgar Evers, accidentally referred to Barack Obama as the "45th president" of the United States while delivering the inaugural invocation on Monday. Obama is actually the 44th president.
"America, we are here, our nation’s Capitol on this January the 21st 2013, the inauguration of our 45th president, Barack Obama," she said. "We come at this time to ask blessings upon our leaders, the president, vice president, members of Congress, all elected and appointed officials of the United States of America."
"We are here to ask blessings upon our armed forces, blessings upon all who contribute to the essence of the American spirit, the American dream. The opportunity to become whatever our mankind, womankind, allows us to be. This is the promise of America."
To read the transcript of Evers-Williams' entire invocation, click here.
During her invocation for Obama's inauguration ceremony, Evers-Williams called on Americans to work together to build on the nation's progress. The message of inclusion for the inaugural ceremonies comes 50 years after her husband was gunned down in the driveway of his Mississippi home.
The inauguration also falls on Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
Evers-Williams is a distinguished scholar at Alcorn State University in Lorman, Miss. She was chairwoman of the NAACP from 1995 to 1998.
The Associated Press contributed to this report
(H/T: Huffington Post)
