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A poem written for US President Joe Biden’s inauguration has been placed on a restricted list at a south Florida elementary school following a parent complaint.
In a Facebook post on Tuesday, poet Amanda Gorman vowed to fight back after her poem, Bukit We Climb, was deemed inappropriate for younger students at the Bob Graham Education Center in Miami Lakes. Currently it only applies to high school kids.
The poem was challenged – although it is not clear why – by the parents of two students at the school, along with several books.
“I’m gutted,” Gorman wrote. “Robbing children of the chance to find a voice in literature is a violation of their right to free thought and free speech.”
While book bans aren’t new, they’re happening more frequently, especially in Florida – where Republican Governor Ron DeSantis has championed a policy that allows censorship of books deemed inappropriate for children in schools, sparking a national uproar.
“And make it clear: most banned works by authors who have been struggling for generations on bookshelves,” Gorman’s post said. “The majority of this censored work is queer and non-white.”
After Joe Biden was sworn in as the 46th president of the United States, inaugural poet Amanda Gorman, 22, read a poem called The Hill We Climb.
The reason for the complaint is unclear
DeSantis, who entered the 2024 presidential race on Wednesday, has largely bridged the cultural divide over race, sexual orientation and gender as he gained support from conservative voters who decided the Republican primary.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre condemned the decision to ban Gorman’s poetry, saying Biden and his administration stand by him. “The President is proud to have Ms. Gorman, the youngest inaugural poet, speak at his inauguration.”
“Banning books is censorship, period,” he said. “This is restricting American freedoms – American freedoms and we must all fight against these actions.”
Yecenia Martinez, the principal of the school — which includes kindergarten through 8th grade and is part of the Miami-Dade public school system — did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment. The school is named after Bob Graham, former Democratic governor and US senator from Florida.
Daily Salinas, a parent who objected to the poem and the book, told the Miami Herald that he was not “for removing or censoring any book.” Salinas said he wants materials to be relevant and for students to “know the truth” about Cuba. It is not immediately clear what Gorman’s poem is arguing for.
After her complaint, a material review committee consisting of three teachers, a library media specialist, a guidance counselor and the principal, determined that one of the books in question was balanced and age-appropriate, and would be available to all students, the newspaper reported. .
The other four were considered “more appropriate” or “more appropriate” for high school students. The books should remain in the high school section of the media center, the review concluded.
The US’s youngest premiere poet has captured worldwide attention with celebrity shout-outs and millions of followers. Students have learned his words and the 22-year-old is the top of book sales for unpublished work.
Gorman, who at the age of 17 became the country’s National Youth Poet Laureate, said he wrote the poem so that “all young people can see themselves in this moment of history,” and he has received many letters and videos from children who were inspired to write their own poems. .
At Bukit We ClimbGorman references everything from the Bible to Broadway shows Hamilton, and at times echoes the oratory of John F. Kennedy and Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. With urgency and statement he begins to ask, “Where can we find light / In this never-ending shadow?” and use poetry and life stories themselves as answers.
His appearance was a highlight of the inauguration ceremony that marked Biden’s tenure. He is the youngest poet to read at a presidential inauguration since Robert Frost was invited to Kennedy in 1961.
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