A parent who got a popular poem banned from the school curriculum admitted she hadn't read the poem nor does she read books often.
Miami mum-of-two Daily Salinas complained that the poem 'The Hill We Climb' contained 'hate messages' and it was placed on a restricted list by her children's school, The Bob Graham Education Centre.
Salinas expressed her complaints about the poem Gorman read at President Joe Biden’s inauguration, for including “references of critical race theory,” “indirect hate messages” and “gender ideology and indoctrination".
Salinas also complained about The ABCs of Black History, Cuban Kids and Love to Langston, prompting the school to ban the books for elementary kids
But she later admitted she had not read the poem in full and is not a "book person".
She added in an interview with the Jewish Telegraphic Agency: “I’m not an expert, I’m not a reader. I’m not a book person. I’m a mom involved in my children’s education.”
It also later emerged that social media accounts appearing to be Salinas’s shows that she posted antisemitic content online, and appeared to have been present at Proud Boys events, and at a protest attended by the far-right organization Moms for Liberty.
The Jewish Telegraphic Agency also reviewed a Facebook account that appeared to be Salinas’s.
It included a disturbing post with a list of steps for how “Jewish Zionists” would achieve world domination, including “Replace royal rule with socialist rule, then communism, then despotism,” and “Sacrifice people (including Jews sometimes) when necessary.”
In a statement to JTA on Wednesday, Salinas confirmed that the post belonged to her and apologized, saying: "I want to apologize to the Jewish community … I’m not what the post says … I love the Jewish community.”
In the interview, Salinas, who says she has a deep opposition to communism, due to her Cuban heritage, admitted she hadn’t read her questionable post beyond the word “communism.” She also noted that English is not her first language.
“I see the word ‘communism,’ and I think it’s something about communism,” she said. “I didn’t read the words.”
Amanda Gorman wrote on Facebook that she was 'gutted' her poem had been removed.
"Robbing children of the chance to find their voices in literature is a violation of their right to free thought and free speech,' she wrote.
She added that she wrote the poem so that 'all young people could see themselves in a historical moment,' and that she´s received countless letters and videos from children who were inspired to write their own poems.
