[imagesource: Patrick Semansky]
For Donald Trump’s inauguration, the then-president-elect had a tough time finding artists and musicians who would be willing to perform, with most of them, including Andrea Bocelli and Elton John, publicly declining.
This time around things were a little different, with big names like Lady Gaga and Jennifer Lopez on the ticket.
The artist who really stole the show, however, was National Youth Poet Laureate Amanda Gorman.
Her poem struck a chord with everyone, from the attendees at the ceremony to celebs like Oprah Winfrey:
I have never been prouder to see another young woman rise! Brava Brava, @TheAmandaGorman! Maya Angelou is cheering—and so am I. pic.twitter.com/I5HLE0qbPs
— Oprah Winfrey (@Oprah) January 20, 2021
Former first lady Michelle Obama was also impressed:
With her strong and poignant words, @TheAmandaGorman reminds us of the power we each hold in upholding our democracy. Keep shining, Amanda! I can’t wait to see what you do next.
#BlackGirlMagic
Photo credit: Rob Carr pic.twitter.com/C2cf0U5iEj
— Michelle Obama (@MichelleObama) January 20, 2021
Gorman, via BBC, said that she “screamed and danced her head off” when she found out she had been chosen to read at President Biden’s swearing-in ceremony.
She said she felt “excitement, joy, honour and humility” when she was asked to take part, “and also at the same time terror”.
And she added that she hoped her poem, completed on the day supporters of former President Donald Trump stormed the Capitol, would “speak to the moment” and “do this time justice”.
She stepped up to the plate, and she killed it:
Here’s the transcript for you to enjoy, followed by a few more highlights, including Lady Gaga’s performance.
[STARTS]
When day comes we ask ourselves,
where can we find light in this never-ending shade?
The loss we carry,
a sea we must wade
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 just-ice
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
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
And yes we are far from polished
far from pristine
but that doesn’t mean we are
striving to form a union that is perfect
We are striving to forge a union with purpose
To compose a country committed to all cultures, colors, characters and
conditions of man
And so we lift our gazes not to what stands between us
but what stands before us
We close the divide because we know, to put our future first,
we must first put our differences aside
We lay down our arms
so we can reach out our arms
to one another
We seek harm to none and harmony for all
Let the globe, if nothing else, say this is true:
That even as we grieved, we grew
That even as we hurt, we hoped
That even as we tired, we tried
That we’ll forever be tied together, victorious
Not because we will never again know defeat
but because we will never again sow division
Scripture tells us to envision
that everyone shall sit under their own vine and fig tree
And no one shall make them afraid
If we’re to live up to our own time
Then victory won’t lie in the blade
But in all the bridges we’ve made
That is the promise to glade
The hill we climb
If only we dare
It’s because being American is more than a pride we inherit,
it’s the past we step into
and how we repair it
We’ve seen a force that would shatter our nation
rather than share it
Would destroy our country if it meant delaying democracy
And this effort very nearly succeeded
But while democracy can be periodically delayed
it can never be permanently defeated
In this truth
in this faith we trust
For while we have our eyes on the future
history has its eyes on us
This is the era of just redemption
We feared at its inception
We did not feel prepared to be the heirs
of such a terrifying hour
but within it we found the power
to author a new chapter
To offer hope and laughter to ourselves
So while once we asked,
how could we possibly prevail over catastrophe?
Now we assert
How could catastrophe possibly prevail over us?
We will not march back to what was
but move to what shall be
A country that is bruised but whole,
benevolent but bold,
fierce and free
We will not be turned around
or interrupted by intimidation
because we know our inaction and inertia
will be the inheritance of the next generation
Our blunders become their burdens
But one thing is certain:
If we merge mercy with might,
and might with right,
then love becomes our legacy
and change our children’s birthright
So let us leave behind a country
better than the one we were left with
Every breath from my bronze-pounded chest,
we will raise this wounded world into a wondrous one
We will rise from the gold-limbed hills of the west,
we will rise from the windswept northeast
where our forefathers first realized revolution
We will rise from the lake-rimmed cities of the midwestern states,
we will rise from the sunbaked south
We will rebuild, reconcile and recover
and every known nook of our nation and
every corner called our country,
our people diverse and beautiful will emerge,
battered and beautiful
When day comes we step out of the shade,
aflame and unafraid
The new dawn blooms as we free it
For there is always light,
if only we’re brave enough to see it
If only we’re brave enough to be it
[ENDS]
Some have interpreted the lines “Where a skinny Black girl, descended from slaves and raised by a single mother, can dream of becoming president”, as an indication that Gorman, who studied Sociology at Harvard University, might have her sights set on the presidency in the future.
Others see it as a reference to the shift in American politics for people of colour, which started when Barack Obama became the first African American president, followed by the history-making Kamala Harris, who has become the first woman, and first African American, and first person of South Asian descent to become vice-president.
Before we wrap up, here’s Gaga’s powerful performance of the American national anthem:
And Jennifer Lopez’s medley, including ‘This Land is Your Land’ and ‘America the Beautiful’:
Garth Brooks, who publicly declined Trump’s invitation to perform at his inauguration four years ago (he gets major props for that), also made an appearance to sing ‘Amazing Grace’, but the poor guy had to follow on from Gaga and J-Lo, which couldn’t have been easy.
I’ll leave you with that performance:
[source:bbc]
