Inauguration Day poet Amanda Gorman says that a security guard followed her home claiming that she "looked suspicious," then just as quickly as he trailed her, disappeared without apology.
"A security guard tailed me on my walk home tonight. He demanded if I lived there because “you look suspicious.” I showed my keys & buzzed myself into my building. He left, no apology. This is the reality of black girls: One day you’re called an icon, the next day, a threat," Gorman tweeted.
In a sense, he was right. I AM A THREAT: a threat to injustice, to inequality, to ignorance. Anyone who speaks the truth and walks with hope is an obvious and fatal danger to the powers that be. https://t.co/hY9miR0b6J
— Amanda Gorman (@TheAmandaGorman) March 6, 2021
"In a sense, he was right. I AM A THREAT: a threat to injustice, to inequality, to ignorance. Anyone who speaks the truth and walks with hope is an obvious and fatal danger to the powers that be," she continued.
Gorman, who rose to prominence as the first National Youth Poet Laureate in 2017, found acclaim as the youngest poet in known U.S. history to recite original poetry at a presidential inauguration when she read "The Hill We Climb" during President Joe Biden's swearing-in ceremony, as Blavity previously reported. Since then, she has used her Twitter account to call out disparities Black women and girls face in society, often juxtaposing her acclaim with the unfounded perceptions of other Black women.
In February, she pointed out how she was being celebrated around the same time a 9-year-old girl was being pepper-sprayed by police in Rochester, New York.
"We live in a contradictory society that can celebrate a black girl poet & also pepper spray a 9 yr old," she tweeted.
Wow, a fantastic @washingtonpost piece by @nnekamcguire . We live in a contradictory society that can celebrate a black girl poet & also pepper spray a 9 yr old. Yes see me, but also see all other black girls who've been made invisible. I can not, will not, rise alone. https://t.co/tP531SCjrk
— Amanda Gorman (@TheAmandaGorman) February 14, 2021
The 23-year-old has had quite a run of recent accolades. Since January, she's topped Amazon's book charts, performed a poem at the Super Bowl, gotten a job offer from an HBCU and signed a modeling contract with IMG Models, among other things.
However, she continues to make it clear that she won't be the only Black woman traveling this road to widespread acclaim. In a Time interview with former First Lady Michelle Obama, Gorman gave advice to young Black girls walking towards the spotlight.
“I’m learning that I am not lightning that strikes once. I am the hurricane that comes every single year, and you can expect to see me again soon," she said, alluding to other Black girls.
“Especially for girls of color, we’re treated as lightning or gold in the pan — we’re not treated as things that are going to last. You really have to crown yourself with the belief that what I’m about and what I’m here for is way beyond this moment.”
