Prophetic Poet, Amanda Gorman: ‘The Hill We Climb’

We’ve seen force that would shelter our nation rather than share it Would destroy it Would destroy our country if it meant delaying democracy And this effort very nearly successful. Amanda Gorman

The undegenerated segregationists …have declared that democracy is not worth having if it involves equality. The segregationist goal is the total reversal of all reforms, with reestablishment of naked oppression and if need be a native form of fascism. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Something For Sunday

By: Joseph Evans, Ph.D.

Of course the events that occurred on January 6, 2021 were executed by unrepentant, civically uninformed and possibly – psychologically deranged people. To take their nation back, they scaled the walls of the United States Capitol building; which was built by black slaves. The justification for their insurrectionist’s terrorist’s acts was a simple, straightforward, and a clear claim. “President Trump,” they said, “he invited us to take our government back.” Again, psychologically deranged people and now we add a fearful, vulnerable, and gullible but a willing violaceous and violent people. 

The people not only exposed their opprobrium to this nation’s milquetoast hiding behind economic walls paid for by plutocratic privilege and oligarchical blind hope of becoming plutocrats, but their scaling wall’s talents also exposed our unsettled lust for white supremacy. The global villages saw this. In fact, every one of the global villages knows that the United States has stood historically aside and permitted white supremacy to continues uncontested and unabated. Well, everyone but white America knows. This was the task for Amanda Gorman.  For Amanda, we wonder aloud, did these most current events of unadulterated white supremacy influence the genius while she wrote her poem? 

In large part, we must believe so.  The unrepentant treasonous actions must have informed what an immediate iconic poem is: “The Hill We Climb.” The actions from those who threatened the republic’s fragile democracy must feel that white mythology has been exposed to be – a myth.  Gorman is a literary genius on the rise.  She is a native Californian, twenty-two years of age, and Harvard educated but somehow, she was not overly conditioned to believe herself privileged by rubbing shoulders with the plutocrats’ and oligarchs’ kids. This can happen while attending one of the world’s vanguards of white privilege and Eurocentrism. 

Sundry of us who attend these institutions do not survive the brainwashing that awaits us. Some leave and become a part of the milquetoast partisans of do nothingism’s that so many black folks embrace. Many seemingly delude themselves and distance us from the daily squalor most people of African descent and other sociomarginalized face daily in order to survive.  She demonstrated that she has escaped the ambivalences which we believe is a manifestation of Divinity’s grace. Amanda escaped the disease of neutrality and the fig of assimilation into a dysfunctional American psyche and pathology which is – white mythology. It is white mythology that informs white privilege.  

Of her poem’s reading, one friend described it as “churchy.” And for good reason, she is “churchy.” She is a Christian and a part of the Black Catholic tradition. And when black Catholicism is given proper space inside the conclave, it continues to exhibit shades of black and blue African traditions (many of us acknowledge the cosmic presence of our ancestor and elder’s spirits in the cosmos). Amanda the Divinity believer has overcome to become: “Youngest ever inaugural poet Amanda Gorman…, shoots to stardom after overcoming a speech impediment to perform at Biden ceremony” a United Kingdom newspaper reports.  She is like all of us.  She has human flaws – she struggles to pronounce the letter “R” and not “R-a.” We know people like her – we “R-a” people like her.

Few of us however possess her mind.  In this way, she is not like all of us.  She’s a creative genius.  She is a prophet posing as a poet – or a poet posing as a prophet – or she is prophetic poet – or a poetic prophet – you choose.  You will not be wrong.  Either way, Amanda expresses what many of us believe to be important, namely the concept of Sankofa, “Go back and get it.”  She understands that the past is never the past – even William Faulkner understood this too.  But here is the intent of bringing this to our attention.  She understands that January 6, 2021’s heinous events are not a one-off. 

This is who we are President Biden and Vice President Harris. We are a pathologically lying nation who (black and white folks) believes that white mythology justifies the law of the land.  When that mythology is threated, perhaps by black advancement, the white proletariat explodes: white double consciousness triggers white fear – then white rage (scaling walls that black slave labor built is white fear and rage triggered by black advancement). 

Amanda is the personification of black advancement.  Her poem, we believe was channeled from her inner Dr. King. His prophetic words continue to haunt the nightmarish American psyche, “the undegenerated segregationists… have declared that democracy is not worth having if it involves equality.” That is what Amanda’s prophecy is all about – democracy and whether the nation’s privileged are willing to fight to emancipate and liberate their minds. Amanda has done her part. – Do not say she has not. – She has helped you. She has invited you to become a part of our organized liberation march and movement – join us!   All of us must bear witness, Amanda – the literary genius is saying we have an example.  It is called “The Hill We Climb.”