Amanda Gorman delivered a new poem on the third night of the Democratic National Convention with a clear message that “love that frees us all.”
The 2017 National Youth Poet Laureate called on Americans to lead with empathy and unity.
“Empathy emancipates, making us greater than hate or vanity. That is the American promise, powerful and pure,” she said. “Divided, we cannot endure but united, we can endeavor to humanize our democracy and endear democracy to humanity.”
She then inquired that maybe the American dream, that Vice President Kamala Harris represents for many, might not be a dream at all.
“Perhaps the American dream is no dream at all, but instead a dare to dream together,” she added.
Gorman was the first person to be named National Youth Poet Laureate and the youngest poet to read at a presidential inauguration. She read her poem “The Hill We Climb” at President Joe Biden’s inauguration in 2021.
The poet outlined the stakes of the election in her poem. She called for the audience to think critically about who we “fall for.”
“We face a race that tests if this country we cherish shall perish from the earth, and if our earth shall perish from this country, it falls to us to ensure that we do not fall for a people that cannot stand together, cannot stand at all,” she added.
Gorman concluded her three minute poem by calling Americans to step up and redeem this country that men and women have fought wars over.
“Let us not just believe in the American dream. Let us be worthy of it,” Gorman concluded.
Watch the full poem recitation here:
Poet and activist Amanda Gorman addresses the DNC: "We are one family, regardless of religion, class or color. For what defines a patriot is not just our love of liberty, but our love for one another." https://t.co/cS91XqZhJh pic.twitter.com/ivLLBaOEzi
— ABC News Live (@ABCNewsLive) August 22, 2024
