Just days after it was announced that Amanda Gorman’s poem “The Hill We Climb” had been formally banned from the curriculum at a Miami-Dade, Florida elementary school, the poet has seen support for her writing grow and His person.
As a result of the fact, three of his works, including his collection of poems call us what we carrythe now “controversial” poem he read at Biden’s inauguration, “The Hill We Climb”, and his children’s book Change Sings They have become among the best-selling books on Amazon.
Gorman’s poem was one of the works banned for allegedly giving “indirect hate messages” and referencing critical race theory.
A mother of two students at the Bob Graham Education Center, Florida, found it inappropriate for her children. The parent, Daily Salinas, a Cuban who lives in Miami Lakes, complained about four other books: The ABCs of Black History, Cuban Kids, Countries in the News: Cuba and Love Langston.
A monitoring group of Miami shared a video of Salinas with the Proud Boys, a far-right group, and another where he is seen attending a protest by Moms For Liberty, an ultra-conservative entity that is very active in promoting the removal of books throughout the country.
Miami Dade elementary school withdraws poem by African-American Amanda Gorman from circulation
These groups have been instrumental in supporting Gov. DeSantis’ legislation that allows parents to challenge the presence of any book in school libraries.
According to PEN America, Florida “had the second-highest number of book bans in the country,” with “566 bans in 21 districts ranging from Panhandle to South Florida” during the 2021-2022 school year. As of March 2023, “175 books had been recalled” from school districts in the state.
Upon hearing the news of her work being banned, Gorman took to Twitter: “I’m heartbroken. Let’s be clear: most of the banned works are by authors who have struggled for generations to make it to the shelves. Most of these censored works are voices queer and not white,” she continued. “I wrote ‘The Hill We Climb’ so that all young people could see themselves in a historic moment.”
“Robbing children of the opportunity to find their voice in literature is a violation of their right to freedom of thought and expression.”
Gorman’s next children’s book, Something, Somedayis also currently among the best sellers on Amazon.
