*Amanda Gorman, the country’s first National Youth Poet Laureate, graces the cover of Vogue’s May issue and speaks candidly with the publication about her rise to fame.
“Honored to be the first poet EVER on the cover of @voguemagazine, & what a joy to do so while wearing a Black designer, @virgilabloh. This is called the Rise of Amanda Gorman, but it’s truly for all of you, both named & unseen, who lift me up,” Gorman wrote on Twitter Wednesday.
For the issue, Gorman recalls how American Girl used her likeness in 2017 without her permission. Per romper.com, she had been booked to speak at an American Girl outlet to celebrate their annual “Girl Of The Year,” a doll called Gabriela McBride when she noticed the doll’s backstory eerily resembled her own.
Honored to be the first poet EVER on the cover of @voguemagazine , & what a joy to do so while wearing a Black designer, @virgilabloh . This is called the Rise of Amanda Gorman, but it’s truly for all of you, both named & unseen, who lift me up ????????
Love,
Amanda https://t.co/PFkEzv1kta— Amanda Gorman (@TheAmandaGorman) April 7, 2021
Gabriela is described on the American Girl website as a girl who “loves the arts and uses poetry to help find her voice so she can make a difference in her community. At the time the doll was announced, Gorman had just been named the first-ever Youth Poet Laureate for Los Angeles.
“She was a Black girl with a speech impediment,” Gorman told Vogue about the doll, and this hit home because she grew up with her own speech impediment. Despite American Doll denying any similarities, Gorman still participated in the unveiling event because “I felt like if I backed out of the event,” she told Vogue, “I would have been failing the girls who would have this Black doll.”
Gorman said the moment was one of her first lessons in the downsides of fame.
Meet Gabriela McBride—our new #GOTY! She’s a true talent who gets creative for a cause. Learn more about her story: https://t.co/jPIraxudql pic.twitter.com/Ayd9gWnGDy
— American Girl (@American_Girl) January 1, 2017
As reported by Blavity, since appearing at Joe Biden’s Inauguration performing “The Hill We Climb,” Gorman has received an outpouring of endorsements, job opportunities and book sales.
“I don’t want it to be something that becomes a cage. Where to be a successful Black girl, you have to be Amanda Gorman and go to Harvard. I want someone to eventually disrupt the model I have established,” Gorman said.
“I’m trying not to judge myself. When you’re someone who’s lived a life where certain resources were scarce, you always feel like abundance is forbidden fruit,” she added.
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