February 5, 2021
Super Bowl LV is this weekend, February 7th, when the Kansas City Chiefs will play the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. If you’re not interested in the game, you’ll at least want to catch the pre-show, where Amanda Gorman will be performing “her new poem to honor three Americans — Los Angeles educator Trimaine Davis, Florida nurse manager Suzie Dorner and Pittsburgh-based James Martin, a Marine veteran who volunteers with the Wounded Warrior Project and who has taken in local kids facing issues at home — for their work during the coronavirus pandemic. The three have also been named honorary captains for the Super Bowl by the NFL.” https://www.npr.org/
Amanda Gorman, you’ll remember, most recently recited her poem “The Hill We Climb” at President Biden’s inauguration. Amanda was diagnosed with an auditory processing disorder in kindergarten as well as having speech articulation-related challenges which made it difficult to pronounce certain words and sounds. But in 2017 Gorman was named the first-ever National Youth Poet Laureate of the United States.
She is the founder and executive director of One Pen One Page, an organization providing free creative writing programs for underserved youth. She also recently did a remote interview with Michelle Obama, covering topics ranging from the role of art in activism to the pressures Black women face in the spotlight.
She signed with IMG Models, the same agency as Gigi and Bella Hadid. And her fashion sense has led to the red satin Prada headband she wore during the inauguration ceremony selling out, while her yellow coat (also Prada) caused searches for “yellow coats” to increase 1,328% (according to fashion search engine Lyst).
“I’m a black woman with a powerful pen and a big heart,
and I like my look to reflect that pride.”
Wordsmith. Change-maker. – Amanda Gorman
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