Dear Concerned Mother,
You were astute to signal the potential problems the published poem, “The Hill We Climb” by Amanda Gorman, might cause for your own two children and other elementary school readers at Bob Graham Education Center in Miami Lakes, Fla.
First, Gorman is young — perhaps too young to really understand life — and, in fact, she is the youngest poet ever to speak at a presidential inauguration.
Second, she presented her poem at the inauguration of a Democrat, Joseph R. Biden, someone I imagine you might not like.
Amanda Gorman
Third, she is a Black woman who is identified as an “activist (whose) work focuses on issues of oppression, feminism, race and marginalization, as well as the African diaspora” — all quite dangerous ideas for young children.
Fourth, she graduated from the elitist Harvard University, where she was a member of the very selective organization known as Phi Beta Kappa.
Fifth, she has presented her poems in “woke” venues such as the Library of Congress, the Lincoln Center and the White House, where she spoke not only before the Obamas but other liberals such as Al Gore, Hillary Clinton, Lin-Manuel Miranda and a Middle Eastern young person named Malala.
Sixth, she was on the cover of both Time and Vogue, yet another indication that powerful people are trying to force her upon unsuspecting ordinary Americans.
Seventh, Gorman published six books before she turned 25, three of them specifically written for children — and you can only imagine their content.
Eighth, she read her new poem, “Chorus of the Captains,” at the halftime show of Super Bowl LV, a venue that promotes sports instead of academics, not the signal you want to give to the young students at Bob Graham, especially since not all of them can be captains.
Finally, the poet “inspires” young people all over the world — especially girls and people of color — with her brief passage in “The Hill We Climb,” where she says:
We the successors of a country and a time
Where a skinny Black girl
Descended from slaves and raised by a single mother
Can dream of becoming president
Only to find herself reciting for one.
You likely wondered about the appropriateness of several references in these short five lines: a Black girl; a descendant from slaves; a child without the benefit of two parents; and one who dreams the impossible of becoming the president of the United States.
So, as a courageous and protective mother yourself, you chose to act. That’s exactly what your own Gov. DeSantis no doubt motivated you to do. You raised serious concerns about Amanda Gorman and her inauguration poem and its effects on unsuspecting children. You filed a complaint with the administrators of the school about this disturbing piece of “literature,” arguing that it is “not educational” and contained indirect “hate messages.”
You pointed to two passages in the poem you felt disguised those hate messages (but not very well, because you saw them for what they were):
We’ve braved the belly of the beast.
We’ve learned that quiet isn’t always peace,
And the norms and notions of what ‘just is’
Isn’t always justice.
Also:
And yet the dawn is ours before we knew it.
Somehow, we do it.
Somehow, we’ve weathered and witnessed
A nation that isn’t broken, but simply unfinished.
You also warned the poem would be “confusing and indoctrinate students,” according to a report from the left-leaning Florida Freedom to Read Project. In the documents compiled by that group, you stated your feeling that the poem promotes “CRT and gender indoctrination.” When you were asked on the school’s complaint form if you had read any professional reviews of the work, you explained that you “don’t need it.”
You’re a brave and tough momma! One slight faux pas, however, is that you attributed “The Hill We Climb” to Oprah Winfrey rather than to Amanda Gorman. But never mind.
Very shrewdly, you explained to the Miami Herald that you were not “for eliminating or censoring any books,” but simply want materials that are age appropriate. Your red flag issue was reviewed by a committee of three teachers, a library media specialist, a guidance counselor and the principal, who agreed with your complaint and judged Gorman’s work would better suit middle school students and thus would not be available for use by elementary school children or their teachers.
Of the total of five books, including the one comprised of Gorman’s poem, you deemed inappropriate and should therefore be removed “from the total environment,” you succeeded in getting four of them taken from the elementary school library. I know you are proud, and I’m sure the governor is pleased also.
As one who shares your concerns about woke schools like Bob Graham Education Center, where incendiary thoughts about Critical Race Theory, gender indoctrination and other inappropriate subjects might subtly be introduced to our trusting and vulnerable children, I offer some additional problems — some literal and others metaphorical (but just as unsafe) for your consideration and action:
- Remove Washington Irving’s Rip Van Winkle — about a man who was woke.
- Remove Anna Sewell’s Black Beauty — reminiscent of the racist cry, “Black is beautiful!”
- Remove Mark Twain’s Huckleberry Finn — presents the slave Jim as a free man.
- Remove Howard Pyle’s The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood — stole from the rich to give to the poor, which might incite imitation.
- Remove Joyce Milton’s Pocahontas: An American Princess — an Indian as an American princess?
- Remove Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird — all right, I suppose, if it were really about bird hunting, but it is about an obviously guilty Black man.
- Remove Barack Obama’s Of Thee I Sing: A Letter to my Daughters — need I say more?
- Change “fairy tales” to “fantasy stories” — words have power and send messages.
- Change “foot race” to “foot speed competition” — don’t mention “race” unnecessarily.
- Change lyrics in “Jesus Loves the Little Children” — replace “red and yellow, black and white” to “cream and iv’ry, beige and white.”
- Change world maps so North America and Europe are enlarged, while Latin America, Africa, the Middle East and Asia (except for Australia and New Zealand) are reduced in size — an obvious correction.
- Stop singing “Row, Row, Row your Boat” — “life is but a dream” is realistic only for the privileged.
- Stop using “Have yourself a Merry Little Christmas” at holiday celebrations — “keep the yuletide gay” defies statewide “don’t say gay” policy
- Stop using “Deck the Halls” — “don we now our gay apparel” reflects gender identity.
- Remind students that well-known historical figures were actually more or less white — this list includes Cleopatra, Sitting Bull, Sojourner Truth, Moses and, of course, Jesus.
Please accept my affirmation and suggestions in the spirit in which they are offered.
Feeling your action was MAGAnificent,
Another concerned parent
Robert Sellers
Rob Sellers is professor of theology and missions emeritus at Hardin-Simmons University’s Logsdon Seminary in Abilene, Texas. He is a past chair of the board of the Parliament of the World’s Religions in Chicago. He and his wife, Janie, served a quarter century as missionary teachers in Indonesia. They have two children and five grandchildren.
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