PEMBROKE PARK, Fla. – The backlash against, and the defense of, Florida’s new standards for African American history curriculum has gone nationwide.
The board of education signed off last week on the new lesson plans months in the making, specifically to align classroom instruction with the new state laws that reframe how to teach about race and about sex and gender identity.
Critics are slamming the curriculum for avoiding horrific and painful experiences of enslaved people, and in one line that has headlined much of the outcry seems to suggest learning new labor skills was a benefit.
That line is listed in the middle school section, and it reads: “Instruction includes how slaves developed skills which, in some instances, could be applied for their personal benefit.”
The outrage exploded nationally, fueled by the political divide marking Florida’s year of culture war climate.
Vice President Kamala Harris, who was in Jacksonville last week, unleashed.
“So when I think about what is happening then here in Florida, I am deeply concerned,” she said. “Because let’s be clear, I do believe this is not only about the state of Florida, there is a national agenda afoot.”
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has been in full defense of the new standards as thorough and factual.
State Education Commissioner Manny Diaz called it comprehensive and complete, the good bad and the ugly of African American history.
“What we should be striving to do, is to provide our students with all this information,” Diaz said. “Let them formulate their own opinions. That is what true learning is. And I know when the bill was passed there were a lot of comments about what can be taught or not be tied. I think the standards, if anyone wants to look at them, you can clearly see that answers that question. That it is an in-depth coverage of African American history.”
At that board meeting, Dr. Paul Burns, the department’s chancellor for K to 12 public schools, who is an African American man, presented the work of the task force he led that wrote the new standards, and backhanded critics, including teachers unions and the media.
“There were questions, there was trepidation,” he said. “People weren’t sure, are we really going to be able to write African American history standards and our teams made it very clear that as the commissioner said we had to write factual, objective African American history standards. As the commissioner said, it covers the good, the bad, and the ugly. We want to provide all the information to our students. So for the folks in the media and the teachers union who are watching I want you to please pay close attention because you’ve been peddling really a false narrative.”
This was one of several topics discussed during Sunday’s This Week in South Florida Roundtable with national political reporter Marc Caputo, Miami Harald editorial page editor Nancy Ancrum, attorney Stephen Hunter Johnson and Ed Pozzuoli, chair of the Broward County GOP.