American poet Amanda Gorman
Credit: © Kathy Hutchins, Shutterstock

February is Black History Month, an annual observance of the achievements and culture of Black Americans. This month, Behind the Headlines will feature Black pioneers in a variety of areas.

American poet Amanda Gorman performed at the presidential inauguration of U.S. President Joe Biden in 2021. She read her poem “The Hill We Climb” at a pivotal time in United States history. She became the youngest poet to read at a presidential inauguration. The poem, composed for the occasion, included references to the attack on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, just two weeks before the inauguration. In the attack, rioters supporting outgoing President Donald J. Trump stormed the building in an attempt to stop the certification of the 2020 presidential election, which Biden won. As a twenty-two-year-old Black woman, Gorman spoke for millions of people who were scared, frustrated, and distraught over the recent events. Gorman quickly gained widespread attention after the inauguration as a symbol of hope and a gifted poet.

Amanda Sarah Chase Gorman was born March 7, 1998, in Los Angeles, California. Her twin sister is the filmmaker Gabrielle Gorman. Growing up, Amanda was challenged with a speech impediment that involved difficulty pronouncing some speech sounds. She shares this struggle with President Biden who overcame a childhood stutter. In 2014, at age 16, she was named Los Angeles Youth Poet Laureate. In 2017, she was named the first National Youth Poet Laureate in the United States by the youth writing program Urban Word. She earned a B.A. degree in sociology from Harvard University in 2020. Gorman’s work includes themes of feminism and racial oppression.

Gorman’s writings have been published in a number of newspapers and periodicals. She also has written and presented poems for a variety of special events. Such events include the Library of Congress ceremony held when the writer Tracy K. Smith began her term as U.S. poet laureate in 2017, and the inauguration of a new university president at Harvard in 2018. Gorman’s first published collection of poetry was The One for Whom Food Is Not Enough (2015). A special collectible edition of her poem “The Hill We Climb” was published in March 2021.

In Gorman’s first children’s book, Change Sings: A Children’s Anthem (2021), a girl with a guitar invites other children to join a musical journey on which they discover ways to help people in their community. The book was illustrated by the American author and illustrator Loren Long.

Call Us What We Carry: Poems was also published in 2021. It includes the poem “The Hill We Climb” as well as a collection of new poems in which Gorman explores struggle and hope both in the past and during current events.

American poet Amanda Gorman
Credit: © Kathy Hutchins, Shutterstock

April is National Poetry Month, an annual celebration of this unique form of literature. Each week, Behind the Headlines will feature the art of poetry or a famous poet. 

On January 20, Joe Biden was sworn in as the 46th president of the United States. On the west front of the United States Capitol, musicians performed, religious leaders prayed, and a new president delivered an inaugural address. Among the many speakers was the American poet Amanda Gorman. A 22-year-old Black woman, Gorman became the youngest poet to read at a presidential inauguration.

The poem, titled “The Hill We Climb,” was written for the occasion and referenced the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol, just two weeks before the inauguration. In the attack, rioters supporting outgoing President Donald Trump stormed the building in an attempt to stop the certification of the 2020 presidential election, which Biden won. Gorman’s poem read in part:

We’ve seen a force that would shatter our nation rather than share it,

Would destroy our country if it meant delaying democracy.

And this effort very nearly succeeded.

But while democracy can be periodically delayed,

It can never be permanently defeated.

In this truth, in this faith, we trust.

For while we have our eyes on the future,

history has its eyes on us.

Many observers described Gorman’s performance as extremely moving, bringing the poem’s beautiful, powerful words to life. Her expressive voice guided listeners through the past, present, and future of the United States. The poem and her performance were met with much acclaim.

Gorman was born in 1998 in Los Angeles, California. She struggled with a speech impediment as a child. Gorman studied at Harvard University. She had her first published collection of poetry with The One for Whom Food Is Not Enough (2015). Her work includes themes of feminism and racial oppression. In 2017, she was named the first U.S. National Youth Poet Laureate by the youth writing program Urban Word NYC in cooperation with the Library of Congress.

Gorman became one of only a few poets to perform at a presidential inauguration, joining such legends as Maya Angelou and Robert Frost. In 1993, Angelou performed the poem “On the Pulse of Morning” at the inauguration of President Bill Clinton. Frost recited his poem “The Gift Outright” at the inauguration of President John F. Kennedy.