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Seth Rotherham
  • Amanda Gorman Stole The Show At Biden’s Inauguration [Video+Full Transcript]

    21 Jan 2021 by Carrie in America, Art, Joe Biden, Lifestyle, Politics, Video
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    [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]

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