Back on Monday, Instagram followers of Amanda Gorman didn’t exceed 50,000. Over Wednesday night, they became 2 million and plus.
The secret is indeed Gorman’s entry in history as the youngest inaugural poet to recite a poignant and emotional poem during President Joe Biden’s Inauguration ceremony.
The 22-year-old was invited to the event by First Lady Jill Biden after she was named America’s first National Youth Poet Laureate.
Before the high-profile audience, the gifted young woman delivered her vision of the country where “a skinny Black girl, descended from slaves and raised by a single mother” saw her dream of facing the President come true.
“Being American is more than a pride we inherit. It’s the past we step into and how we repair it,” Gorman said.
“We will not march back to what was. We move to what shall be, a country that is bruised, but whole. Benevolent, but bold. Fierce and free.”
Gorman admitted that Jan.6 violence inspired her writing and message to the officials and the people.
“While democracy can be temporarily delayed, it can never be permanently defeated. Let us leave behind a country better than the one we were left. We will raise this wounded world into a wondrous one.”
No wonder then that Gorman woke up Thursday morning to find thousands of new social media folks reaching to her, sending her tags, and ultimately causing her phone’s breakdown.
“So grateful to all my new supporters in my corner,” she said.
