Amanda Gorman - the 22-year-old poet who wowed the world after her performance at President Biden's inauguration - has shared a story of being racially profiled by a security guard.
The former National Youth Poet Laureate may have captured the nation's attention with her reading of 'The Hill We Climb' on Inauguration Day back in January, but now she has taken to Twitter to share another important, but heartbreaking, message.
On Friday, Gorman wrote to her 1.5 million followers: "A security guard tailed me on my walk home tonight. He demanded if I lived there because 'you look suspicious'.
"I showed my keys & buzzed myself into my building. He left, no apology. This is the reality of black girls: One day you’re called an icon, the next day, a threat."
In a follow-up tweet, the activist proudly stated: "In a sense, he was right. I AM A THREAT: a threat to injustice, to inequality, to ignorance.
"Anyone who speaks the truth and walks with hope is an obvious and fatal danger to the powers that be."
In response, many Twitter users responded to the young poet with messages of support.
"I know this won't reach you, but as a white English guy, I am shocked and astounded at the ignorance of this person. I assume he didn't see the inauguration and your presidential poem. I have educated my boys more following your poetry and writing," one person wrote.
Another person replied to Amanda, writing: "This is terrible. Unfortunately, implicit bias & systemic racism is a deeply rooted problem.
"My local PD arrested a HS senior walking home on a snowy day after his grocery store shift and was arrested for 'not cooperating'. Charges have been dropped but I feel so bad for the kid."
(There is a chance this Twitter user is referring to the arrest of Walmart employee Rodney Reese last month.)
A third added: "This is a post that needs to be shared, as does the poet's awful experience. It's all that's wrong with some sections of white society viewing people of color."
Responding to the kind messages of support from Twitter users, Amanda once again took to the social media site to write: "I am so thankful for the outpouring of support since the incident last night.
"It won't change the truth of what happened, and continues to happen to Black Americans, but it reassures me of what I already know: There is always far more good in this world than bad. Love, Amanda."
Gorman is recognized for being the youngest ever inauguration poet. Additionally, she was the US's first-ever national youth poet at 18, and she has obtained a degree in Sociology from Harvard University.
During her Inauguration Day poem, Gorman even hinted that one day she plans on running for president, saying: "A skinny Black girl descended from slaves and raised by a single mother can dream of becoming president, only to find herself reciting for one."
