What a worthwhile, powerful calling only we can answer. Here with you in the hill and the climb, and whatever light lies beyond, whatever light lies within.
-Amanda

Only then will the loving fantasies of our better nature transform into reality. The work and fight for the dream persists, and what’s more, it is not just a fight, but fate—that perhaps we are as destined for this time as it is destined for us.

was (and am) blown away by how my words reverberated around the world; if anything, it proved to me that we honor King’s dream, by daring to dream big, and by, most importantly, daring to dream together.

Four years ago I wrote my inaugural poem The Hill We Climb. Both when I wrote it and performed it, I did so while continuously reflecting on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr and Coretta Scott King’s legacy.

To honor them, I’m releasing this poem as a fundraiser for the California Fire Foundation, which is offering support and aid to firefighters families, as well as those who have been impacted by the fires. 💛 Give what you can, help who you can, stay safe, and this too we shall conquer.

While we mourn what we have lost, we also give thanks to the first responders, firefighters and civilians who have fought so tirelessly to combat these fires and ensure the safety of so many.

So many others cannot say the same, and my heart goes out to all of those who have been affected and are rebuilding their lives from ash.

I wrote this poem, “Smoldering Dawn”, to process my own fears and prayers for us as we come together as a community to heal from this trauma.

As a proud Angeleno, the fires that have devastated our county have been heart-breaking. I am so fortunate that while my own home in the Palisades was at risk and had some damage from the fires, I am safe.