Amanda Gorman's Inauguration Poem Banned — Along with 3 Race-Related Books — at a Miami-Area School

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A school materials review committee, comprised of staff members at the school, ultimately concluded that one of those books —Countries in the News: Cuba —was“balanced and age appropriate" and would therefore remain on the library shelves. The others, however, were deemed “more appropriate” for middle school-aged children, and will now be in the middle school section of the school’s library, theHeraldreports.

Amanda Gorman prepares to speak at the 2020 inauguration of Joe Biden.Drew Angerer/Getty

Gorman was 22 years oldat the time she first read her poem to a national audience.

The Harvard University grad spoke for about five minutes to commemorate the president and vice president taking their oaths of office. In her reading, Gorman touched on unity and hope, two themes Biden’s inaugural team asked the young poet to focus on.

“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,” she read, in part.

Gorman, who holds the distinction of the United States' first national youth poet laureate, was also the youngest poet in memory to read at an inaugural ceremony, as Biden and Vice PresidentKamala Harriswere sworn in as the country’s next leaders.

A representative for Gorman did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment about the ban, which echoes similar bans taking place across the country — and particularly in Florida, where Gov. Ron DeSantis signed into lawthe so-called “Don’t Say Gay” billthat blocks the classroom discussion of certain LGBTQ+ topicsin grades K-12.

Since the passage of that bill in 2022, dozens of school districts have removed books (many of which touch on LGBTQ+ issues) from their school libraries.

In March, DeSantis called book bans a “hoax,” even as advocacy group PEN America says at least 175 books have been removed in school libraries across the state of Florida in recent months.

Even some Republican donors have acknowledged the bans, with one businessman telling theFinancial Timesrecently he would not be financing a DeSantis presidential run, due to the governor’s extreme social positions, including, specifically “his stance on abortion and book banning.”

source: people.com