Florida School Bans Amanda Gorman Poem Read at Biden’s Presidential Inauguration

A Florida elementary school banned Amanda Gorman's poem, "The Hill We Climb," which she read during President Joe Biden's 2021 inauguration.

The National Youth Poet Laureate poet, Gorman, called out the removal of her poem from the Florida school. She says the ban was due to a single complaint from a parent.

Florida School Bans Amanda Gorman's Biden Inaugural Poem

According to USA Today, Gorman is widely known for reading her powerful and inspirational poem "The Hill We Climb" during President Biden's inauguration.

But this time, the Florida school, Bob Graham Education Center in Miami Lakes, has decided to ban the widely celebrated poem by Amanda Gorman.

The school confirmed that it had restricted access to the book, arguing that they have not banned it. In a statement, the school officials said, "No literature has been banned or removed." Instead, they say they only restricted access to the book, which banned elementary students from reading the poem.

The Daily Beast reports the book in question is the collected edition of the Gorman-authored poem entitled "The Hill We Climb: An Inaugural Poem for the Country."

A complainant reportedly claimed that Gorman's "The Hill We Climb" poem contained inappropriate content deemed unfit for students. The parent argued that the book is "not education," claiming the poem includes "indirect hate messages."

The same parent also requested the Florida school ban other books, such as "Love to Langston," "Cuban Kids," "Countries in the News: Cuba," and "The ABCs of Black History." The parent cites "indoctrination" and "CRT" or critical race theory among the reasons to ban these materials.

Of all these challenged materials, the "Countries in the News Cuba" remained available to all students since the committee explained that it was appropriate for young readers in "wording and presentation."

Interestingly, as per Politico, the complaint mistakenly named the sensational talk show host Oprah Winfrey as the author of "The Hill We Climb" rather than Gorman.

Gorman Blasts Florida School's Move

The National Youth Poet Laureate slammed the Florida school ban, saying, "I'm gutted."

She took to Twitter to share how her poem inspired other young minds to express themselves by writing their pieces. With that in mind, she argued that the Florida school ban robs students of their "right to free thought and free speech" by preventing them from finding their voices.

The poet encouraged her followers to speak out against the recent move, which bans her poem to elementary students.

On top of that, she also disclosed that her publisher, Penguin Random House, has joined forces with PEN America, alongside authors, to bring Florida's Escambia County to court over book restrictions.

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