Not only is African American award-winning writer Amanda Gorman the youngest inaugural poet in U.S. history, but she is also a committed activist and changemaker.
Born in 1998 and raised in Los Angeles, she began writing at a very young age, quickly discovering her talent for poetry.
At age 14, she joined WriteGirl, an afterschool program whose mission was to empower teenage girls in underserved communities through creative writing and one-on-one mentoring. “It’s been thanks to their support that I’ve been able to chase my dreams as a writer,” she once explained.
Two years later, her work gaining attention, she became Los Angeles’ youth poet laureate and published her first poetry collection "The One for Whom Food Is Not Enough” the next year.
Her writing and art focuses on issues of race, feminism, social justice, oppression, and marginalization.
Over the years, she has won several recognitions and invitations, including, among others, from the Obama White House. She has read her poems aloud in grand spaces for special occasions and has served as a United Nations Youth Delegate, speaking up for girls’ education and empowerment.
In 2017, while studying sociology at Harvard, she made history by being named the first-ever National Youth Poet Laureate in the United States.
Earlier this year, she found overnight fame after performing at President Joe Biden’s inauguration and thus becoming the youngest poet to perform at a Presidential Inauguration. Her poem “The Hill We Climb” called for national unity, and hit home with particular relevance after the deadly riots at the Capitol.
“I learned about the power of language to start social movements, energize revolutions, and bring about widespread change,” she once said.
This year, she also became the first poet to ever perform at the Superbowl and will publish two books: a poetry collection featuring her inauguration poem and a children's book reminding young readers the power they have to shape the world.
As such, with her poetic and political expression, she represents the voice of the people and freedom. She is a community leader who has gained the attention of powerful women. There is no doubt she has many more firsts to come, especially since she plans to run for U.S. President when she is old enough.