NPR

'This Is The Reality Of Black Girls': Inauguration Poet Says She Was Tailed By Guard

Amanda Gorman, who became a sensation after her poem at Joe Biden's inauguration, says a security guard told her she looked "suspicious."
Former National Youth Poet Laureate Amanda Gorman arrives at the inauguration of US President-elect Joe Biden on the West Front of the US Capitol on Jan. 20 in Washington, D.C. Gorman says she was tailed Friday night by a security guard who said she looked "suspicious."

To millions of people around the world, the young poet Amanda Gorman represents hope, change and the promise of a better America.

But to a security guard on Friday night, the young African American woman represented a potential threat to public

You’re reading a preview, subscribe to read more.

More from NPR

NPR4 min read
As Pro-Palestinian Protests Spread, More University Leaders Weigh Police Involvement
As college administrators face growing unrest on campuses, a growing number are grappling with whether to bring in law enforcement to quell the demonstrations.
NPR5 min readIntelligence (AI) & Semantics
How Do You Counter Misinformation? Critical Thinking Is Step One
Late last year, in the days before the Slovakian parliamentary elections, two viral audio clips threatened to derail the campaign of a pro-Western, liberal party leader named Michal Šimečka. The first was a clip of Šimečka announcing he wanted to dou
NPR4 min read
'Real Americans' Asks: What Could We Change About Our Lives?
Many philosophical ideas get an airing in Rachel Khong's latest novel, including the existence of free will and the ethics of altering genomes to select for "favorable" inheritable traits.

Related Books & Audiobooks