Amanda Gorman Instagram – I’ve been thinking a lot about the murals of Black figures I saw in my neighborhood growing up—mostly of dead Black public icons, often slain in their youthful prime, and often men. As I continue to hear from children through my books, the more important I truly believe it is that students of color have representations of our people, not just when they’ve been robbed of life, but also images of us LIVING, of us real and there. The next generation deserves to have artistic mirrors of themselves, young and old, alive as well as resting in power—that is to say, we merit to witness ourselves across the full spectrum of our bright human existence. Because of this, I was so happy I finally got to visit the Unity mural by @misteralek in the Palm Springs art pit! I was pleasantly surprised and incredibly grateful that the City of Palm Springs Arts Fund commissioned such a work. Thank you for this piece of peace, and for everyone who has taken time out of their day to visit 💛💛🙏🏿