Ron DeSantis dismissed attacks on his attempts to diminish teaching Black history in Florida schools. He points to the fact that teaching Black History is required by statute in Florida though he personally calls it without educational value. Let’s look at what the law requires but also what is forbidden. Here is the statute that covers the teaching of Black History.
- The following is required in statute 1003.42(2)(f), F.S.
- The history of the United States, including the period of discovery, early colonies, the War for Independence, the Civil War, the expansion of the United States to its present boundaries, the world wars, and the cHistoryghts movement to the present. American history shall be viewed as factual, not as constructed, shall be viewed as knowable, teachable, and testable, and shall be defined as the creation of a new nation based mainly on the universal principles stated in the Declaration of Independence.
- The following is in the required inHistoryon statute, s. 1003.42(2)(h), F.S.
- The history of African Americans, including:
- the history of African peoples before the political conflicts that led to the development of slavery;
- the passage to America;
- the enslavement experience;
- abolition; and
- the history and contributions of Americans of the African diaspora to society.
- Students shall develop an understanding of the ramifications of prejudice, racism, and stereotyping on individual freedoms and examine what it means to be a responsible and respectful person for the purpose of encouraging tolerance of diversity in a pluralistic society and for nurturing and protecting democratic values and institutions.
- Instructional shall include the roles and contributions of individuals from all walks of life and tHistorydeavors to learn and thrive throughout history as artists, scientists, educators, businesspeople, influential thinkers, members of the faith community, and political and government leaders and the courageous steps they took to fulfill the promise of democracy and unite the nation.
- Instructional materials shall include the vital contributions of African Americans to build and strengthen American society and celebrate the inspirational stories of African Americans who prospered, even in the most difficult circumstances.
- Instructional personnel may facilitate discussions and use curricula to address, in an age-appropriate manner, how the individual freedoms of persons have been infringed by slavery, racial oppression, racial segregation, and racial discrimination, as well as topics relating to the enactment and enforcement of laws resulting in racial oppression, racial segregation, and racial discrimination and how recognition of these freedoms has overturned these unjust laws.
- However, classroom instruction and curriculum may not be used to indoctrinate or persuade students to a particular point of view inconsistent with the principles enumerated in subsection (3) or the state academic standards.
- The department shall prepare and offer standards and curriculum for the instruction required by this paragraph and may seek input from the Commissioner of Education’s African American History Task Force.
- The following is in the required instruction statute, s. 1003.42(3), F.S.
- The Legislature acknowledges the fundamental truth that all persons are equal before the law and have inalienable rights. Accordingly, instruction and supporting materials on the topics enumerated in this section must be consistent with the following principles of individual freedom:
- No person is inherently racist, sexist, or oppressive, whether consciously or unconsciously, solely by virtue of his or her race or sex.
- No race is inherently superior to another race.
- No person should be discriminated against or receive adverse treatment solely or partly on the basis of race, color, national origin, religion, disability, or sex.
- Meritocracy or traits such as a hard work ethic are not racist but fundamental to the right to pursue happiness and be rewarded for industry.
- A person, by virtue of his or her race or sex, does not bear responsibility for actions committed in the past by other members of the same race or sex.
- A person should not be instructed that he or she must feel guilt, anguish, or other forms of psychological distress for actions, in which he or she played no part, committed in the past by other members of the same race or sex.
- Instructional personnel may facilitate discussions and use curricula to address, in an age-appropriate manner, how the freedoms of persons have been infringed by sexism, slavery, racial oppression, racial segregation, and racial discrimination, including topics related to the enactment and enforcement of laws resulting in sexism, racial oppression, racial segregation, and racial discrimination, including how recognition of these freedoms have overturned these unjust laws. However, classroom instruction and curriculum may not be used to indoctrinate or persuade students to a particular point of view inconsistent with the principles of this subsection or state academic standards.
- The following is in the required instruction statute, s. 1003.42(4), F.S.
- The State Board of Education shall develop or adopt a curriculum to inspire future generHistorythrough motivating stories of American history that demonstrate important life skills and the principles of individual freedom that enabled persons to prosper even in the most difficult circumstances. This curriculum shall be known as “Stories of Inspiration” and made available to schools to implement the requirements of subsection (3).
- HB 1213 from 2020 required the Commissioner’s African American History Task Force to examine ways to include the 1920 Ocoee Election Day Riots (massacre) in the required instruction on African American History.
- The Task Force issued their recommendation report on March 1, 2021.
- The following courses can be found in the Florida Course Code Directory:
- Course #2104310 — Examining the African American Experience in the 20th Century
- Course #2100340 — African-American History
- Course #2100335 — African American History
- Course 2100336 — African-American History Honors
- Course #2109330 — African History
- Course #2100365 — African History Honors
- The following chart shows current social studies standards on this topic: https://www.fldoe.org/core/fileparse.php/15223/urlt/social-studies-stands.pdf
The good news is that Florida students are theoretically learning a lot more about Black History than you’d be led to believe by those saying DeSantis has eliminated Black History. The material outlined is fairly comprehensive, though at times misleading (I didn’t say false). I reviewed lesson plans and course material as outlined by the State and was mildly impressed at what was included.
There were many examples that leaned toward making Florida and the United States seem better than they were. One example is teaching that Fort Mose, just north of Saint Augustine, was the “first free African community in the United States.” In 1738, Fort Mose was established by the Spanish Governor of Florida a Spanish Colony. The citizens inhabiting Fort Mose were neither all-Black nor free. Living there were Black runaways from Carolina which was closer to being considered the United States and Native Americans. The Black citizens were forced to work under Spanish supervision and conscripted into military service. Fort Mose was the first line of defense against British incursions. Fort Mose existed to protect the white citizens of St. Augustine. At various times, Black enslaved people were sold back into slavery as reparations to the Carolina plantation owners from whom they escaped. In 1763, Spain ceded Florida to the British, and the Black population was forced to flee, many to Cuba. Fort Mose was never a free Black community in the United States, and Florida deserves no credit.
Florida schools talk in some detail about the Civil War and Reconstruction period. They truthfully say one of the root causes of the war was enslavement and highlight the different factions of the Republican Party, the moderates and “radicals” who fought to maintain the Union and end enslavement. There’s no mention of Lincoln’s plan to send the freedmen to Liberia or Central America though they do say his ideas were “evolving.” Frederick Douglass talked him out of that plan. There’s no evidence Lincoln ever considered Black people his social or intellectual equals, which he states quite clearly in the Lincoln-Douglas debates, the text of which you won’t find in Florida schoolbooks.
The period after the Civil War is discussed in some detail, including the Black Codes and Jim Crow. They properly indicate The Black Codes were implemented to duplicate enslavement, and when made illegal, Jim Crow attempted the same. Andrew Johnson, the segregationist Vice-President who took over after Lincoln was assassinated, was called out for his racism.
Republican are given much credit, deservedly so, for their actions before, during, and after the Civil War. Their role in ending Reconstruction by removing federal troops after the Compromise of 1877 gets no mention. Neither is there flow to the Democratic Party beginning when Truman integrated the armed forces in 1948 and heightened after Civil Rights legislation was passed in the 1960s. You don’t see the term “Dixiecrat” mentioned anywhere in the syllabus. Republicans are generally referred to as heroes, and Democrats as racists. That was true for certain periods of time, but both parties have morphed dramHistoryy.
The law requires teaching American History up to the present, which makes it hard to understand omitting Black Lives Matter. DeSantis also requires the course to teach “Western Values” based on the teachings of the Declaration of Independence,” written by Thomas Jefferson. Here is a recently revised paragraph on some of the worthy subjects of study, updated to include some within the Black Panther Party DeSantis originally omitted.
DeSantis made it clear elsewhere that students shouldn’t get information about bell hooks, Angela Davis, Henry Louis Gates, and others, nor hear about intersectionalism or queer studies. The entire concepts of modern voter suppression or systemic racism cannot be discussed. Books are being removed from library shelves and teachers’ classrooms lest educators face third-degree felony charges.
Florida law makes it clear it wants positive examples of how people overcame their circumstances in Florida and the United States. I suppose that means Florida students won’t know that Florida had more lynchings per capita than any other state in the U.S. Florida law required thinking about how to incorporate the 1920 Ocoee Massacre. However, there’s no mention of the murder of Harry T. Moore and his wife Harriette or the Groveland Four. Baby steps, I guess. DeSantis took great credit for mandating teaching about the 1920 Ocoee Massacre but later cut $1 million in funding the state legislature had approved for a documentary on the mass murder. While theoretically required to be taught, there is no penalty for not teaching about it. How does that work?
The good news is that Florida students are getting a better education than you’ve heard. The bad news is that it still perpetuates a political agenda and is the exact type of indoctrination DeSantis says he’s against. DeSantis is also working to eliminate any discussion of diversity on college campuses and is replacing board members so as to gain complete control of agendas. The Florida Legislature and Florida Supreme Court have long ago given up the idea od autonomy and now do exactly as he says. Should he become President with our current right-wing Supreme Court, God help us all.
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This post was previously published on Black History Month 365.
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