*A school in Florida has restricted Amanda Gorman’s poem “The Hill We Climb,” after a parent complained that it’s hate speech and claimed it was penned by Oprah Winfrey.
Gorman became America’s golden child after she read her poem at President Joe Biden’s inauguration. According to TMZ, the Bob Graham Education Center in Miami Lakes will only allow middle schoolers at the K-8 school to access the poem, which was published as a short book.
Gorman reacted to the move in a statement shared on Twitter Tuesday.
“I wrote The Hill we Climb so that all young people could see themselves in a historical moment,” she wrote. “Ever since, I’ve received countless letters and videos from children inspired by The Hill We Climb to write their own poems. Robbing children of the chance to find their voices in literature is a violation of their right to free thought and free speech.”
— Amanda Gorman (@TheAmandaGorman) May 23, 2023
Gorman shared a copy of the parent’s complaint and in it, she is referred to as “Oprah Winfrey” under the author’s publisher section. The complainant claims the poem has “indirect hate messages” and could “cause confusion” and “indoctrinate students,” according to the complaint.
For those claiming my book wasn’t banned, just “aged-up”—The Hill We Climb is an inaugural poem for the world. Relocating it to older age group library shelves by its nature bars younger and equally deserving generations from accessing said moment in history. https://t.co/ya2X3UPddR
— Amanda Gorman (@TheAmandaGorman) May 25, 2023
As CBS News reports, the Miami-Dade County Public School said in a statement, “no literature (books or poem) has been banned or removed.”
“It was determined at the school that “The Hill We Climb” is better suited for middle school students and, it was shelved in the middle school section of the media center. The book remains available in the media center.”
In a tweet, the Florida Freedom to Read Project noted the book will be available to grade 6-8 students only.
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