A Miami-Dade school flagged her poem. The county’s mayor invited her to read it

Miami-Dade County’s mayor on Wednesday invited poet Amanda Gorman to read her work in the Miami area after a local K-8 public school decided the poem she delivered at Joe Biden’s inaugural ceremony wasn’t suitable for elementary school children.

Mayor Daniella Levine Cava doesn’t supervise county schools, so had no say over the decision by a Miami Lakes school to steer young students away from Gorman’s “The Hill We Climb.” The school, Bob Graham Education Center, limited the work to library shelves for middle school students after a review committee determined the poem on racial justice wasn’t appropriate for elementary students.

READ MORE: Miami-Dade K-8 bars elementary students from 4 library titles following parent complaint

In a Twitter post responding to Gorman’s criticism of the decision, Levine Cava, a Democrat, said: “Your poem inspired our youth to become active participants in their government and to help shape the future.”

Miami-Dade’s mayor since late 2020, Levine Cava named the county’s first poet laureate, Richard Blanco, who read a poem for Barack Obama’s second presidential inauguration She also gave the title of county poetry ambassador to an aide, Nicole Tallman, who is a published poet in her off-hours.

“We want you to come to Miami-Dade and do a reading of your poem,” Levine Cava wrote to Gorman. “If you’re in, we will coordinate.”

This story was originally published May 24, 2023 at 11:23 AM.