DeSantis should focus on the business of governing the state. He seeks to silence individuals and impose an alternate version of American history that clearly erases the lived experiences of people in our country. DeSantis makes comments like ‘there is no room in our classrooms for things like critical race theory,’ what he’s really saying is that he doesn’t want or trust our students to think for themselves. “I would hate to see this proposal used to deny the importance of racism and racial politics, and so forth, in American history - because that’s being dishonest,” he told the Phoenix.Īt the ACLU of Florida, executive director Micah Kubic said: “The question of race is primary in the study of American history,” said Bob Holladay, adjunct history professor at the Tallahassee Community College, who has been following Florida’s civics standards for some time. In essence, it’s concerned with institutional racism, the idea that white supremacy so pervades our culture that many people take for granted as the natural order the distortions it imposes on human relations. In fact, critical race theory is an approach to American history that began to emerge during the 1970s to explain the persistence of racism in society. “So, we will invest in actual, solid, true curriculum and we will be a leader in the development and implementation of world-class civics education.” Teaching kids to hate their country and to hate each other is not worth one red cent of taxpayer money,” he continued. “Let me be clear: There is no room in our classrooms for things like critical race theory. Wednesday, DeSantis added what appears to be a new and potentially repetitive effort in changing education civics standards, saying, “Florida’s civics curriculum will incorporate foundational concepts with the best materials, and it will expressly exclude unsanctioned narratives like critical race theory and other unsubstantiated theories.” Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images.īut the Florida Department of Education was already deep into a statewide civics education course standards review intended to “ensure Florida students have the highest quality civics education courses throughout the nation,” according to the department. Volunteers unfurl a giant banner printed with the Preamble to the U.S. But apparently, the math he wants to work with is division not addition,” Jenne said.ĭeSantis spoke during a news conference in Naples in which announced plans to ask the Legislature to approve $106 million in federal COVID relief to revamp and boost the state’s civics education efforts. Especially someone in the governor’s position, of being the executive for the entire state of Florida, I would certainly hope he would try to bring people together more than divide them. “If hatred is going to be the policy move of the day, we’re in a real bad spot. He referred to Donald Trump, DeSantis’ political patron. He’s just doing what his political godfather has shown works on the national stage,” said Evan Jenne, co-chair of the Florida House Democratic Caucus. But, I mean, that is kind of the modern age of politics right now. He’s trying to use Floridians’ differences of skin color to benefit his own political career, and it’s gross. “He’s intentionally trying to agitate along racial lines. He supports crackdowns on both of these social forces now pending before the Florida Legislature.Ī senior legislative Democrat said the governor was attempting to exploit racial divisions. They followed other demonizations by the governor of conservative culture-war bête noirs, including social media companies Republicans accuse of “cancelling” conservative voices and the Black Lives Matter protests that followed the police killing of George Floyd last year. Ron DeSantis delivers his State of the State speech before a joint session of the Florida Legislature on March 2, 2021. The remarks by the governor, who’s two years from seeking reelection and perhaps four from a run for the presidency, fit into a broader conservative effort to delegitimize research into the extent to which racism in America is not just a matter of interpersonal bigotry, but rather is enforced through laws and cultural mores. Ron DeSantis played another culture-war card Wednesday, vowing to expel from Florida’s public schools any study of “critical race theory,” which examines the way race has shaped American society and institutions, which he denounced as “ideological or faddish.”
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