In the newest leg of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ crusade against “wokeness,” the state’s Board of Education on Wednesday approved new standards for its African American history curriculum that distort historical events and omit important context, The Daily Beast reports. Florida middle schoolers will soon be taught that Black people received a “personal benefit” from slavery because they “developed skills,” while high school students will be taught that the deadly white mob attack of Black residents of Ococee, Florida, in 1920 included “acts of violence perpetrated against and by African Americans.”
Members of the board maintain that that distorted portrayal of the racist massacre, in which dozens of Black people were killed to keep them from voting, is factually accurate. MaryLynn Magar, a DeSantis-appointed member of the board, said during the Orlando meeting that “everything is there” in the new standards and “the darkest parts of our history are addressed,” the Tallahassee Democrat reported.
The majority of the speakers who provided testimony during the Wednesday board meeting protested the standards, warning that they skirt key context, gloss over atrocities and, in some instances, will teach students to blame Black Americans. “When I see the standards, I’m very concerned,” state Sen. Geraldine Thompson said at the board meeting, adding that if she were still a professor, she’d give them an incomplete grade. “It recognizes that we have made an effort, we’ve taken a step. However, this history needs to be comprehensive. It needs to be authentic, and it needs additional work.”
