As Miami-Dade high school seniors walk across the graduation stage and receive their diplomas this month, many are hearing the words of poet Amanda Gorman.
Miami-Dade County School Board Member Steve Gallon says he’s quoting from Gorman’s poem “The Hill We Climb” in every graduation speech he gives.
“You will face a new world with new challenges that may pale in comparison to any that you may have faced,” he told graduating seniors at Miami Carol City Senior High School. “[T]he vices of hate, the vices of poverty, of violence, of social injustice and yes … of systemic racism.”
“In the words of Amanda Gorman,” he added, “when day comes, we step out of the shade aflame and unafraid. The new dawn blooms as we free it. For there is always light if we're brave enough to see it. If only we're brave enough to be it.”
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The references in Gallon’s speeches are in response to a recent decision at a public school in Miami Lakes to limit elementary students’ access to Gorman’s poem, after a parent claimed the work included ‘indirect hate messages’ and was ‘indoctrinating’ students.
At age 22, Gorman became the youngest inaugural poet in the nation’s history, performing her work at the inauguration of President Biden.
“‘The Hill We Climb’ is so relevant to our young people who are preparing to transition into the real world and are going to be in a position of responsibility and power to change the world,” Gallon told WLRN. “I think that's what Amanda Gorman's work was really speaking to — the unfinished nature of our nation and the role that the youth have to play in finishing the work of this nation.”
Gorman, who is Black, has said she was “gutted” by the decision to restrict access to her poem, which she says she wrote “so that all young people could see themselves in a historical moment.”
The decision made at the Bob Graham Education Center in Miami Lake applies only to that school, and the school district maintains that students there can still access the book and three others that were re-shelved so long as the books are at an appropriate reading level for the student requesting them.
“I wanted to convey to the teachers, to the public, to the community, to the state and the nation, that [Gorman’s] work is of value. That her message should be available and accessible and resounding to students throughout Miami-Dade County Public Schools,” Gallon said.
Under state law and school district policy, any parent or county resident can challenge a library book. There’s currently no formal process to return a book after it’s been removed.
Gallon argues that the objection forms filed by the parent were not properly filled out, that they included errors and inaccuracies, and that the school’s decision to re-shelve the books following claims of indoctrination is “inconsistent” with district policy.
He plans to address the issue at an upcoming school board meeting and open the door to consider changing the district’s policy on book challenges.
“What recourse does one have? I need clarity around that,” Gallon said. “And I think the board should have a conversation around that.”
