Amanda Gorman
Uplifting Literacy
"Literacy is really the gateway to activating democracy. We become better activists, better engaged citizens; better community members when we can use language, knowledge, and education to communicate and actualize social change.”
Amanda (she/her) is a poet, community leader, and speaker from Los Angeles, California. At 19 she was named the first-ever National Youth Poet Laureate in the U.S. after publishing her first collection of poetry in 2015.
When Amanda was 16, she started a community project called One Pen One Page, focused on literacy and youth activism. Now, she’s a senior at Harvard University and continues to advocate for literacy and education with the non-profit 826 National.
“My goal has never been to convert every young person into a professional writer; my goal is to make sure every young person has the literacy skills they need to raise their voice and change their communities. That passion drives me every day.”
Image by Julia Robinson.
“I’m hoping that with Amplifier we’ll be able to galvanize young people to use creative writing as a way to express, demand, and actualize social change. It’ll be particularly exciting to see how this campaign touches classrooms, the space where we can address illiteracy directly.”
Image by Jordan Strauss
The Organization
In addition to her poetry readings and speaking engagements, Amanda is working with 826 National to launch an op-ed essay writing campaign. 826 National is the largest youth writing network in the country, supporting writing, publishing, and tutoring in eight major U.S. cities, serving nearly 34,000 under-resourced students ages 6-18 each year.
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