🚫😲 Florida School Says ‘Nah, Bruh’ to Amanda Gorman’s Inaugural Poem 📚💥
TL:DR;: A school in Florida has gone full Parental Advisory on Amanda Gorman’s internationally lauded inaugural poem, “The Hill We Climb”. Why? Well, it seems one parent wasn’t vibing with it and called it out for allegedly encompassing themes like critical race theory and “indirect hate messages”. Gorman herself and multiple supporters ain’t happy about it, fam. Do we see a power play, or is this about protecting the kiddos? 🤔🍿
In a world where everything can be a “cancel” button, a Miami-Dade County school in Florida has pressed pause on Amanda Gorman’s inaugural poem, “The Hill We Climb”. This lyrical masterpiece, unveiled during Joe Biden’s inauguration, was the mic drop heard ’round the world. But not anymore for the little minds in this elementary school, where one parent’s complaint has led to a total ban. Imagine the scene: “Nah, that book’s got cooties!”🙅♂️📚💥
Gorman, the poet laureate who wears the crown of words, took to social media with a heartfelt message about the incident. She wrote, “I’m gutted. Because of one parent’s complaint, my inaugural poem…has been banned from an elementary school in Miami-Dade County, Florida.” She went on to highlight the broader context: the majority of forbidden works are by authors who are queer, non-white voices who’ve struggled for generations to get on bookshelves. It makes you wonder, are we cutting off our nose to spite our face here?🤷♀️📖✊
“Robbing children of the chance to find their voices in literature is a violation of their right to free thought and free speech,” Gorman continued. Preach! ✍️💬
Backing up Gorman, Rep. Maxwell Frost (D-Fla.) joined the Twitter roast, quoting a line from the banned poem itself: “But while democracy can be periodically delayed, it can never be permanently defeated.” Throw that shade, sir! 🗣️🔥
The issue gets even funnier, peeps, when you find out that the complaint not only dubbed the poem as “not educational” with “indirect hate messages” but also, get this, misattributed the poem to none other than Oprah Winfrey. Say whaaaat?! 🙈🤣
This latest saga comes as Gorman’s publisher, Penguin Random House, free expression organization PEN America, and a lineup of authors have sued Florida’s Escambia County School District over other book bans discussing race, racism, and LGBTQ identities. The suit argues that giving students access to diverse topics is crucial for producing thoughtful and engaged citizens. Word up to that! 🏳️🌈👩⚖️📚
But, here’s a question to chew on: if a school can cancel a book based on one parent’s complaint, are we empowering censorship or protecting our children? And where’s the line between diverse voices and perceived “hate messages”? 🤔💭
This ain’t just about a poem, folks. It’s about the kind of world we’re creating for the younger generation. So what say you, squad? Is this a climb, or are we rolling downhill?⛰️🔽
[Disclaimer: This article does not provide recommendations or constitute any form of advice. The views expressed are not those of Turnt Up
