Blog Post #1
By: Marie C. Chery
In July of 2023, the Florida Board of Education approved a new set of academic standards for teaching Black history in public schools which included controversial statements about enslaved people having “benefited” from slavery and suggested that anti-Black violence was equivalent to acts of Black resistance. Yes, you read that correctly. Also shocking, are claims made by members of the Florida work group that developed these standards stating that only two of the 13 members of the group pushed to include those specific items. It is not clear what evidence merited Florida officials’ decision to write the standard in this way.
Even worse, in a statement released by Florida’s Department of Education to defend its new standard, it listed examples of Black historical figures whom it claimed, “developed highly specialized trades from which they benefitted”. However, some of the names on that list referred to individuals who were never enslaved. Furthermore, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a Republican presidential candidate, came under fire after both defending and distancing himself from the changes.
“You should talk to them about it,” he said, referring to the group, at an event last week. “I didn’t do it. I wasn’t involved in it.” said Desantis during a press conference.
What’s going on in Florida stems from an ongoing right-wing agenda aimed at curtailing “woke ideology” and specifically targets critical race theory (CRT) in K-12 and diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives in higher education. This standard came one year after the state passed the Individual Freedom Act (IFA), also known as the Stop WOKE Act, into law. This law prohibited educators and employer’s from discussing and/or endorsing certain concepts around race, gender, racism, discrimination, and privilege in public schools and workplaces.
Moreover, Florida’s new academic standard did not come without protest. In direct response to the standard, south Florida democratic senator Shevrin Jones filed legislation (SB 344) prohibiting the use of revisionist language about the true impact of slavery.
"The instruction required under this paragraph (of law) and state academic standards may not indicate or imply that an enslaved person benefited from slavery or the enslavement experience in any way," the bill stated.
Unfortunately, the bill has not yet passed, however state-wide objections from educators, education advocates, and black leaders continue to petition against inaccuracies and inflammatory language still present in the states black history standard.
Impact on Race in America
Florida’s black history standard largely censors students and teachers’ ability to speak freely about racial issues and challenge racism. This new standard forces a color-blind ideology into the classroom that doesn’t align with the realities of racial and social injustices faced by marginalized communities, primarily black Americans.
The views expressed in this article are the writer's own.
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