Amanda Gorman slammed officials at a school in Miami-Dade County, Florida, on Tuesday for what she called a ban on elementary students reading “The Hill We Climb,” the poem she famously recited at President Joe Biden’s 2020 presidential inauguration.
The poem, which has been published as a short book, will now be accessible only to middle school students at the pre-K through eighth grade Bob Graham Education Center in Miami Lakes, Florida.
In an attempt to fight back, Gorman said her publisher – Penguin Random House – is joining PEN America and others in a lawsuit to challenge book restrictions.
“I’m gutted,” the former and first-ever National Youth Poet Laureate wrote on Instagram about the Bob Graham Education Center’s decision to ban her work from the students it serves. The decision was made after one parent complained, Gorman wrote.
She also took to Twitter, saying, “So they ban my book from young readers . . fail to specify what parts of my poetry they object to, refuse to read any reviews, and offer no alternatives. Unnecessary #bookbans like these are on the rise, and we must fight back.”
Her tweet included a copy of a complaint form that states her book “is not educational” and contains “hate messages.” The form, also tweeted by The Florida Freedom to Read Project, says the complainant believes the purpose of the book is to “cause confusion and Indoctrinate students.”
‘Don’t say gay’ law expands:Florida bans teaching of gender identity, sexuality through 12th grade
School: Book was moved, not banned
The complaint that led to Bob Graham Education Center restricting elementary-age students’ access to “The Hill we Climb” came from a mom of two students at the school. The parent said that in all, five titles in the school’s library weren’t age appropriate.
A school materials review committee made up of a few Bob Graham teachers and several administrators deemed four items as more appropriate for middle school students than for elementary-age students. The other three titles that were shifted to the middle school age group are “The ABCs of Black History,” which was written for an audience of 5 years old and up, “Cuban Kids,” and “Love to Langston.”
Miami-Dade school officials defended their actions and said they haven’t banned the book.
“No literature (books or poem) has been banned or removed,” the district said in a statement. “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.”
Gorman says her poem is important reading for children.
“I wrote The Hill We Climb so that all young people could see themselves in a historical moment. I’ve received countless letters and videos from children inspired by The Hill We Climb to write their own poems,” she wrote. “Robbing children of the chance to find their voices in literature is a violation of their right to free thought and free speech.”
In her Instagram post, Gorman called on her followers to donate to PEN America “as they protect literature.”
Read the full text: ‘The Hill We Climb’Amanda Gorman performs powerful poem at inauguration:
Details about books required under law DeSantis signed last year
A Florida law passed last year requires more transparency about what materials schools use to teach students. The new law requires districts to catalog every book on their shelves and create a formal review process for complaints.
“This legislation aims to preserve the rights of parents to make decisions about what materials their children are exposed to in school,” Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said at the time.
It’s resulted in countless complaints about materials in classrooms and school libraries and a growing number of challenges about items that have been removed or restricted.
Just last week, PEN America and publisher Penguin Random House announced they are trying to block book bans in a Florida Panhandle county.
Their federal lawsuit alleges the book bans in Escambia County public schools are unconstitutional.
In March, the Florida teachers union and other groups sued the state’s education department, saying the way it interpreted a new law about school library books goes further than the law intended, leading to censorship and book bans.
The Miami-Dade school’s move is the latest in a slew of efforts to remove or restrict access to literature that addresses racial and social justice and material involving sexual content from classrooms nationwide.
On Friday, however, the U.S. Education Department said it had investigated a Georgia school district over concerns that its process for removing books may have created a “hostile environment” for students.
Book bans are on the rise:What are the most banned books and why?
CONTRIBUTING: Melissa Pérez-Carrillo, Lianna Norman, The Palm Beach Post.
Contact Kayla Jimenez at kjimenez@usatoday.com. Follow her on Twitter at @kaylajjimenez.
