The Poet, the General and the Hammer
America was in full form on January 20, 2021. But it will not be the words of a president that history will remember; it will be the words of a poet.
America was in full form on January 20, 2021:
The social distancing seating arrangement for the inauguration reflected a pandemic surging to 25 million cases and claiming more than 400,000 lives.
Kamala Harris placed her hand on Thurgood Marshall’s bible and swore the oath to become the first woman, first Black American and first Asian American Vice President.
At noon Joseph Biden officially became the 46th President of the United States, a capstone to a political career spanning half a century.
Bernie Sanders was an entire mood that set Black Twitter aflutter.
As were Barack and Michelle Obama, who have apparently located the fountain of youth.
The Capitol grounds, ringed with barbed wire and patrolled by the National Guard, reflected the reality of a fracturing country—”No nation,” warned President Biden ominously, “only a state of chaos.”
But it will not be the words of a president that history will remember from that day; it will be the words of a poet.
Amanda Gorman stepped up to the freshly sanitized podium and did that thing Black poets do: she hewed out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope.
Gorman fully captured the pain and possibility of the present moment, proposing to this messy amalgamation of peoples a common purpose: to cohere a nation with liberty, and justice for all.
Gorman’s The Hill We Climb will be cited, recited and studied for years to come.
The Poet
How a 22-year-old L.A. native became Biden’s inauguration poet
“Gorman, all of 22, became the youth poet laureate of Los Angeles at age 16 in 2014 and the first national youth poet laureate three years later. On Wednesday, she became the youngest poet to write and recite a piece at a presidential inauguration, following in the considerably more experienced footsteps of Maya Angelou and Robert Frost.” - Julia Bajaras, Los Angeles Times
Amanda Gorman's distinctly Black love for country
“In portraying the US in aspirational terms -- as a project that isn't yet complete but is worth fighting for -- Gorman roots her poem in a distinctly Black expression of love for country… While politicians and pundits tend to depict the US as a country that, save for the occasional aberration, is more or less fully formed -- as a country that achieved democracy 244 years ago instead of, at best, 55 years ago, when Black Americans won the right to the franchise -- Gorman isn't in thrall to such lofty notions.” - Brandon Tensley, CNN
Amanda Gorman, The 22-Year-Old Inaugural Poet, Wore Jewelry From Oprah
“Oprah sent Gorman a pair of gold hoops with a hanging diamond from Nikos Koulis's Energy Collection, as well as a birdcage ring by Of Rare Origin to honor previous inauguration poet Maya Angelou.” - Elena Nicolaou, The Oprah Magazine
The General
Austin confirmed as nation’s first African American defense secretary
“Austin’s confirmation caps a career in which the Thomasville, Ga., native and U.S. Military Academy graduate has notched a number of firsts, becoming the first African American to command an infantry division in combat and the first African American to lead U.S. Central Command, the unit of the U.S. military responsible for operations in the Middle East.” - Paul Sonne, Washington Post
Lloyd Austin Isn’t Who You Think He Is
“[I]t’s clear that Biden and Austin share common beliefs, including a healthy skepticism about America’s serial Middle East interventions, a deep-seated belief in the efficacy of diplomacy, and a nearly instinctive commitment to rebuilding U.S. alliances. These are the foreign-policy ideas that helped secure the White House for Biden—but have not always been as popular with the military as with the American public.” - Mark Perry in Foreign Policy
The Hammer
Baseball great Henry ‘Hank’ Aaron, 86, passes into history
“A Hall of Famer, Atlanta’s first professional sports star, and, in a soft-spoken way, an agent of change in the post-Jim Crow South, Aaron came to embody the city as he embodied the Braves… Aaron’s record of 755 home runs hardly does justice to his extraordinary career, for he retired with 23 major league records.” - Terence Moore, Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Nobody — And We Mean Nobody — Was Consistently Great Like Hank Aaron
“At the height of the record chase, Aaron received 3,000 letters per day, many of which carried death threats and hate on a scale no person could prepare themselves for… Aaron’s legacy extends far beyond mere statistics, but his playing career was defined in large part by his metronomic ability to perform at near-MVP levels or better for almost two decades in a row.” - Neil Paine, FiveThirtyEight
Aaron’s death prompts call to change name: Braves to Hammers
“The Braves have steadfastly resisted calls to change their name, saying they view it as a tribute to Native Americans rather than a slur… There has been no indication that Aaron’s death would change the team’s stance on its Braves nickname… The Braves are among several big league teams that still use Native American-inspired monikers, including the NFL’s Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs, the NBA’s Golden State Warriors and the NHL’s Chicago Blackhawks.” - Paul Newberry, Associated Press