Black Community News News and Commentary for Christians
In what could be called a shocking moment, without exaggeration, a black member of a county advisory board in Florida apologized to Governor Ron DeSantis after one of its members called him a racist.
Leftists accused the governor of being a racist after he criticized the politicized content in the draft version of the College Board’s new Advanced Placement African American Studies curriculum, which included “critical race theory” (CRT) and Black Lives Matter (BLM), and banned the course from schools in the state.
In response, the College Board got rid of CRT and “Black Queer Studies,” and downgraded BLM material in the draft, among other changes. The board also added “black conservatism” as a research project idea. The College Board said it did not bow to political pressure and had changed the document before it received a letter from the Florida Department of Education banning the course.
One of the Miami-Dade Black Affairs Advisory Board’s members said: “Our governor is a racist.”
Fox News reported the statement that the board chair, a black man, issued on behalf of the entire board.
“We take it to heart when someone uses the term racist,” Pierre Rutledge said. “Words matter. And so as chair, I must start by saying we want to pull that back. There’s nothing wrong with saying ‘we’re sorry.’ That’s not what we intended to say or be depicted by anyone. And that’s not the feeling of this board.”
How often does this happen: a black person apologizing for calling a white person a racist?
Black leaders and Democrats in Florida have pledged to defend the course and keep it in schools. Protesters will rally on Feb. 16 at the state capitol in Tallahassee.
“Black history matters,” said the Rev. R.B. Holmes, pastor of Bethel Missionary Baptist Church in Tallahassee, in an announcement of the rally. “Black history is not inferior. And Black history does not lack educational value.”
Gov. DeSantis has been cleaning house. He’s proposed defunding so-called diversity, equity, and inclusion programs and barring automatic union dues withdrawals from teachers paychecks.
Do you care about protecting children from predators? If so, sign up for our newsletter to stay informed.
Isn’t it a form of “grooming” to convince school children that studying Black History–an integral part of American History–is less valuable and serves them no purpose?
No one – including Gov. DeSantis – is suggesting not teaching Black history, or telling students it’s not valuable. Leftists keep claiming that, but it’s a lie. A recent article in the NY Post (2/5/2023) states that DeSantis’ Stop WOKE Act “prohibits teaching critical race theory concepts” but actually “requires classroom instruction on ‘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 the African diaspora to society.'”
Also, the AP course will still be offered; it’s just been revised to give less emphasis on controversial topics like CRT and BLM. The Post article reports that the course includes “units on (1) early African societies, (2) the slave trade and abolition, (3) Reconstruction and black codes, and (4) the civil rights movement and modern black culture.”
The article goes on to comment, “you shouldn’t give trendy topics like ‘intersectionality and activism’ and ‘the reparations movement’ as much space as weighty aspects of the American experience like ‘disenfranchisement and Jim Crow laws’ and ‘HBCUs and black education’ – which is what the initial framework did.” And the more controversial topics are in fact available for independent research.
To me that sounds like a win-win situation for students!
I’m trying to get a handle on why Duval County, Fla. would remove books on Hank Aaron, Roberto Clemente and Rosa Parks from school libraries. What could possibly be offensive about their individual stories?
Black History should Teach the Total Black History Including the Tribalism, Cannibalism and Slave Trading which took place on the African continent for Thousands of years , and still today in some places, before any black slave was brought to the Americas.
Agreed: Kids should learn more about Khufu, Ramses II, Nefertiti, etc.
I haven’t heard that. What’s your source?
“100 Great Kings and Queens of Africa”–2014