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a school of Florida banned elementary school students from reading “The Hill We Climb”, the poem written and recited by Amanda Gorman at the inauguration of Joe Biden as president, in a new act of censorship of authors, books and educational content for primary education.
The powerful poem, which was praised internationally, was one of several works banned from the Miami-Dade County School Library, after a mother complained that the censored texts were “indoctrination” and referenced critical race theory, gender ideology and “indirect hate messages,” according to the Miami Herald.
Amanda Gorman, born in Los Angeles, in 1998, is an American poet and activist, National Youth Poet Laureate. Her work focuses on issues of oppression, feminism, race and marginalization, as well as the African diaspora. She published the book of poetry “The One for Whom Food Is Not Enough” in 2015. In January 2021, she se became the youngest poet to read at a presidential inauguration, reading his poem The Hill We Climb at Joe Biden’s inauguration.
A mother censors the work of African-American and Latino authors
Daily Salinas was the one who demanded the withdrawal of the texts from the direction of the Bob Graham Education Center school, in Miami Lakesas reported by several Florida media.
Gorman said Wednesday in a message posted on social media: “I am devastated. Due to a parent complaint, my inaugural poem, ‘The Hill We Climb,’ has been banned from an elementary school in Miami-Dade County, Florida,” she wrote.
“And let’s be clear: Most of the banned works are by authors who have struggled for generations to make it to the shelves,” Gorman continued. “Most of these censored works are from queer and non-white voices. I wrote ‘The Hill We Climbed’ so that all young people could see themselves in a historic moment. Since then I have received countless letters and videos from children inspired by ‘The Hill We Climb’ to write their own poems.”
According to documents released by the Florida Freedom to Read Project and first reported by the Miami Herald, the poem was withdrawn from circulation after a parent claimed in March that it “is not educational and indirectly hateful.” [sic]”.
The same mother submitted challenges to four other books: The ABCs of Black History, by the writer Rio Cortezan award-winning author for her poetry and works for children; Cuban Kids, by George Anconaan American photo essayist and creator of children’s picture books, the son of immigrants from Mexico; Countries in the News Cuba, by Kieran Walsh, Professor and Director of the Irish Center for Social Gerontology (ICSG), University of Galway, in Ireland and Love Langston, by Tony Medinaa poet, graphic novelist, and author of children’s and youth books.
The complaint also incorrectly attributed authorship of Gorman’s poem to Oprah Winfrey.
Gorman was not only bothered by the “censorship” exercised by the school, but also by the whistleblower’s mistake with Oprah Winfrey, according to his message on the networks.
The withdrawal of books from public schools in Florida due to complaints from parents of students who allege that their contents are progressive indoctrination is the order of the day, based on the laws promoted by its governor Ron DeSantis.
They are laws that give parents greater decision-making power over content in the education system and other laws that directly prohibit certain content, such as sexual orientation or gender identity.
The poem recited on the occasion of Biden’s inauguration reads: “We, the successors of a country and a time when a skinny black girl descended from slaves and raised by a single mother can dream of becoming president.”
The Miami-Dade County public school system took to social media to say that “in order to ensure accurate information” the educational entity is forced to clarify that the book “was never banned or removed from one of our schools.”
The entity clarifies that the text “is available in the media center as part of the collection of intermediate grades.”
Gorman confirmed on Instagram that he plans to join Penguin Random Publishing and Pen America in a federal lawsuit. to fight book limitations and bans in Florida and across the country.
“Banning books is censorship. It is the limit of American freedom and we should all take a stand against such acts.” White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre said. which underscored that both President Biden and his Administration support the author.
The controversy arose the same day that Republican Florida Governor Ron DeSantis officially announced his intention to run for the Republican nomination for the White House in the 2024 elections.
With information from Wikipedia, The New York Times and Rolling Stone
Keep reading:
– Authors, parents and a major publishing house sue Florida for banning books in schools
– The forbidden books reading clubs with which young people challenge the growing censorship in the United States
– Florida schools where teachers must hide books from student view