Unter extrem hohen Sicherheitsvorkehrungen wird Joe Biden am 20. Januar 2021 als Präsident der Vereinigten Staaten vereidigt. Die größte Aufmerksamkeit bei der Zeremonie bekommen jedoch weder er noch seine Vizepräsidentin Kamala Harris, sondern die 22-jährige afroamerikanische Schriftstellerin Amanda Gorman, die ihr fünfminütiges Gedicht "The hill we climb" vorträgt.

Gedicht zur Amtseinführung des US-Präsidenten hat Tradition

Ein Gedicht zur Inauguration eines Präsidenten – das ist Tradition in den USA. Amanda Gorman ist nun die jüngste, die diesen Auftrag bekommt. Knapp drei Wochen zuvor wurde sie von Joe Bidens Frau Jill darum gebeten. In dem Gedicht verarbeitet sie Bilder und Gedanken zum Sturm aufs Kapitol zwei Wochen zuvor. Aber auch die Hoffnung ihrer eigenen Generation, rassistische Diskriminierung zu überwinden. Sie spricht von sich als einem dünnen, schwarzen Mädchen, das von Sklaven abstammt und von einer alleinerziehenden Mutter großgezogen wurde, das davon träumen kann, Präsidentin zu werden, nur um sich selbst in einer Situation zu finden, in der sie für einen Präsidenten vorträgt.

Amanda Gorman: The hill we climb

When day comes, we ask ourselves, where can we find light in this never-ending shade? The loss we carry, a sea we must wade. We've braved the belly of the beast. We've learned that quiet isn't always peace. And the norms and notions of what just is, isn't always just-ice. And yet the dawn is ours before we knew it. Somehow we do it. Somehow we've weathered and witnessed a nation that isn't broken, but simply unfinished. We, the successors of a country and a time where 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. And yes, we are far from polished, far from pristine, but that doesn't mean we are striving to form a union that is perfect. We are striving to forge our union with purpose. To compose a country, committed to all cultures, colors, characters, and conditions of man. And so we lift our gaze, not to what stands between us but what stands before us. We close the divide because we know to put our future first, we must first put our differences aside. We lay down our arms so we can reach out our arms to one another. We seek harm to none and harmony for all. Let the globe, if nothing else, say, this is true: That even as we grieved, we grew. That even as we hurt, we hoped. That even as we tired, we tried. That we'll forever be tied together, victorious. Not because we will never again know defeat, but because we will never again sow division. Scripture tells us to envision that everyone shall sit under their own vine and fig tree and no one shall make them afraid. If we're to live up to our own time, then victory won't lie in the blade, but in all the bridges we've made. That is the promise to glade The hill we climb. If only we dare It's because being American is more than a pride we inherit. It's the past we step into and how we repair it. We've seen a force that would shatter our nation, rather than share it. Would destroy our country if it meant delaying democracy. And this effort very nearly succeeded. But while democracy can be periodically delayed, it can never be permanently defeated. In this truth, in this faith we trust For while we have our eyes on the future, history has its eyes on us. This is the era of just redemption. We feared at its inception We did not feel prepared to be the heirs of such a terrifying hour, but within it, we found the power to author a new chapter. To offer hope and laughter to ourselves. So while once we asked, how could we possibly prevail over catastrophe? Now we assert how could catastrophe possibly prevail over us? We will not march back to what was, but move to what shall be a country that is bruised but whole benevolent, but bold, fierce, and free. We will not be turned around or interrupted by intimidation because we know our inaction and inertia will be the inheritance of the next generation. Our blunders become their burdens, but one thing is certain. If we merged mercy with might, and might with right, then love becomes our legacy, and change our children's birthright. So let us leave behind a country better than the one we were left with Every breath, my bronze-pounded chest. We will raise this wounded world into a wondrous one. We will rise from the gold-limbed hills of the West. We will rise from the windswept Northeast where our forefathers first realized revolution. We will rise from the lake-rimmed cities of the midwestern states. We will rise from the sunbaked South. We will rebuild, reconcile and recover and every known nook of our nation. And every corner called our country. Our people diverse and beautiful will emerge, battered and beautiful. When day comes, we step out of the shade aflame and unafraid The new dawn blooms as we free it. For there was always light. If only we're brave enough to see it. If only we're brave enough to be it.