Today is a very historic day.
Joe Biden is officially America’s 46th president and Kamala Harris is the nation’s first woman of color/Indian descent Vice President.
During the inauguration, Amanda Gorman, 22, made more history as our first-ever youth poet. In her poem titled, “The Hill We Climb,” she calls for Americans to “leave behind a country better than the one we were left.” She also spoke about unity, something our nation desperately needs.
Gorman was born and raised in Los Angeles, California by a single mother. She started writing poems when she was a child but didn’t like to perform due to a speech impediment, like President Joe Biden. CNN reports she gained confidence from former President Barack Obama and Martin Luther King Jr. She would also practice songs from “Hamilton” the Broadway musical.
Gorman’s “The Hill We Climb” was inspired by two poems that were read at Barack Obama’s inauguration — Richard Blanco’s 2013 “One Today” and Elizabeth Alexander’s 2009 “Praise Song for the Day,” CNN reports. Gorman was also inspired by writers like Walt Whitman and Frederick Douglass, whom she feels have spoken to the ideals of a nation, the article notes.
Take a look at her delivering her poem:
CBS reports In 2017, Gorman became the first National Youth Poet Laureate. She’s a graduate of Harvard and plans to release a book of children’s poems this year. Gorman also plans on running for president one day.