Black History Month Feature: Amanda Gorman
Stephanie Mitchell/Harvard Staff Photographer
Amanda Gorman is the youngest inaugural poet in U.S. history and rattled the world with her undeniable talent and elegance during her captivating performance at the U.S. capitol this past January. This revolutionary poet performed her poem, “The Hill We Climb” at the Presidential Inauguration and shared her contagious craving for unity and the future with her audience. Her performance left the audience in awe questioning when she would grace the stage and the world with her presence again. Lucky for us, the NFL announced plans for Gorman to recite an original poem at Super Bowl LV!
Gorman was inspired by a speech from Malala Yousafzai, a Pakistani activist for female education, the youngest Nobel Prize laureate and author of I Am Malala, her personal biography, who gave a motivating speech at the United Nations Youth Assembly. At 16, Gorman became the youth delegate for the United Nations. Gorman highlights how this revealed to her what she capable of.
After this, Gorman was given the title of inaugural Los Angeles Youth Poet Laureate and the following year she published her first collection of poetry, “The One for Whom Food Is Not Enough.” She is an award-winning writer, cum laude graduate of Harvard University and in 2017, she was named the First National Poet Laureate. These only a few of her many accomplishments, which extend from her professional to her personal life.
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“It’s not enough for me to write. I have to do right as well.”
— Amanda Gorman
What led Gorman to the National stage? Dr. Jill Biden discovered her work less than a week before the inauguration. The Times shared that the First Lady was watching a reading of Gorman’s that was previously presented at the Library of Congress when she decided to offer Gorman a role in the inauguration. One Zoom call and an airplane flight later, Gorman found herself writing history with her spoken words and performing for a nation that desperately craved it.
Gorman has written for the New York Times and (stay tuned!!) this talented creative has some books in the making. She has her own children’s debut book, “Change Sings,” which was created in collaboration with illustrator Loren Long. This book encourages younger generations to remember that they have the power to change the world with their actions and voices. The Hill We Climb and Other Poems will be released in the fall of this year and includes her renowned poem performed at Biden’s Inauguration.
The Times recorded a conversation she had with Michelle Obama. They discussed some of the leading topics in her work and her life. Michelle Obama ends the conversation by asking Gorman, “Do you have any advice for young girls, and Black girls in particular, who earn their way into the spotlight?” to which she responds,“You really have to crown yourself with the belief that what I’m about and what I’m here for is way beyond this moment. I’m learning that I am not lightning that strikes once. I am the hurricane that comes every single year, and you can expect to see me again soon.”