Florida School Draws Criticism for Banning Amanda Gorman’s Poem

Florida School Draws Criticism: The poem The Hill We Climb, written by Amanda Gorman for the presidential inauguration, was prohibited from distribution in a Miami-Dade County elementary school after a parent complained it contained “hate messages.”

Tuesday, Gorman, who gained fame after reciting her poem at President Joe Biden’s inauguration in 2021, took to Twitter to protest the ban.

The preponderance of restricted works are written by “queer and non-white” authors, the poet explained in a lengthy Twitter message that began, “I’m devastated.”

In defence of Gorman, Florida Democrat Maxwell Frost tweeted a passage from the now-banned book The Hill We Climb. Frost cited a proponent of democracy who stated, “While democracy can be temporarily delayed, it cannot be permanently defeated,” before declaring, “We will fight, and we will win.”

Florida School Draws Criticism for Banning Amanda Gorman’s Poem

The book was removed from circulation at the K-8 Bob Graham Education Centre in Miami Lakes after a parent complained in March that it “is not educational and contains indirect hate messages,” according to documents obtained by the Florida Freedom to Read Project and first reported by The Miami Herald.

This parent has also filed complaints against The ABCs of Black History, Cuban Kids, Countries in the News: Cuba, and Love to Langston, alleging that they promote “indoctrination” and “CRT.” Additionally, the complaint incorrectly stated that Oprah Winfrey wrote The Hill We Climb.

Last week, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed a number of new educational regulations, including one that mandates the removal of challenged classroom materials within five days of receiving a complaint. On Wednesday, DeSantis is expected to announce his candidature for president in 2024. When we attempted to obtain a comment from a representative of the Miami-Dade County Public Schools, nobody was available.