Governor Ron DeSantis and the super-majority Florida Republican legislature have created a pathway for African Americans in Florida that bends backward in time politically and educationally. They have shown little respect for African Americans' history and lived experiences in this state. Colorblindness, meritocracy, and race neutrality facilitate this backward movement. There is seemingly a total disregard for the impact that racist laws and policies of the 19th and most of the 20th century have on racial inequities seen today. This assertion is not hyperbole. There is no "race card" being played here. This backward movement represents a clear and present danger for equity, racial, and social justice for the African-American community, historically plagued by slavery, hundreds of years of racial subjugation, lynching, voter suppression, and more. Despite the history of redlining, Jim Crow, and segregation in social, public spaces and educational institutions, Governor DeSantis and many other politicians and pundits claim that systemic racism does not exist and restrict discussion of critical topics in African American history that they don’t like in Florida schools.
We are currently in an era where it is politically fashionable for extreme right-wing politicians to impose their beliefs on racial and social justice issues, which are inconsistent with federal laws intended to protect civil rights, voting rights, and diversity and equity. Casey DeSantis, the wife of Governor Ron DeSantis, summed it up pretty well in a statement that she tweeted on August 23, 2023:
"For far too long this government has been imposing its will on us... ...now it's time that we impose our will on it!"…Casey DeSantis
This statement sums it all up. Let’s summarize critical areas where this personal “will” has been imposed and how it weakens the future of the African-American community in Florida.
Dog Whistles, Dog Whistles, Dog Whistles Oh My!!
With Governor DeSantis, it is always about the "woke." By now, everyone should know that the word "woke" used by DeSantis is a dog whistle used to demean any individual or institution that believes in and supports diversity, equity, inclusion, and racial or social justice. He has spent much of his political career falsely reframing the word "woke." Ask him to define it. It won’t be close to the original definition. A Black musician made the phrase “stay woke" famous in 1938 in a song intended to warn Blacks to be alert to racism while traveling through the South following the 1931 Scottsboro Boys trial in Alabama. He intended to alert Blacks during that time to be aware of flagrant racism while traveling through Alabama. Governor DeSantis has never acknowledged this, as far as I have researched. Anyone who doubts this can hear Lead Belly explain this in his own words, recorded in an interview with the Smithsonian Institute. It is incredible to listen to this discussion on YouTube. In addition, the official definition of woke, as provided in the Merriam-Webster dictionary, is as follows:
“aware of and actively attentive to important facts and issues (especially issues of racial and social justice”).
However, let’s substitute the co-opted definition of woke with the actual meaning:
Governor DeSantis famously states: Florida is where“woke”comes to die.
Substitute the real definition: Florida is where “being attentive to issues of race and social justice” comes to die.
As you can see, the co-opted version of the word reveals a different intent. When used in this context, being attentive to racial and social justice is not valued and should concern African Americans and other marginalized groups.
Redistricting to Reduce Black Political Representation
Governor DeSantis vetoed a redistricting map previously approved by the GOP-led Florida legislature that would have allowed African Americans in North Florida to continue selecting a candidate to represent them in Congress as per the Florida Constitution. Although voters in Florida approved a constitutional amendment to prevent gerrymandering, DeSantis argued that a more recent Supreme Court Ruling determined that districts could not be drawn with race being the primary factor. He wanted his map used and not what the legislature initially approved. Representative Al Lawson, an African American whose district was eliminated, offered these comments in an interview at that time:
“DeSantis made it clear that his ultimate objective was to cut the number of African Americans and Hispanic Americans serving in Congress,” Lawson said in a news release. “The fact that DeSantis justifies his goal to create racial disparities in congressional representation by citing the constitutional amendment created following the Civil War for the very purpose of remedying those same disparities is absurd.”
In addition, Democratic State Rep. Kelly Skidmore stated:
“From the beginning of the redistricting process, DeSantis has been force-feeding his desired map onto House and Senate leadership resulting in a ridiculous two-map legislative submission that cowardly attempted to appease his racist political agenda,”
Voting Restrictions
According to a recent editorial in the Miami Herald, Governor DeSantis’ approach hasn't made it easier for voters to cast ballots, especially if they are voters of color, poor, and elderly. Following the 2020 election, DeSantis bragged that the election in Florida was the most secure in the nation and could serve as a model for the rest of the country. What happened? He joined other states in response to the “Big Lie” posed by Donald Trump that the election was stolen. DeSantis later signed Senate Bill 90, which limited drop boxes, and changed the law on mail-in-voting, making it mandatory to be renewed each election cycle (every two years) instead of four years. In Miami alone, 438,000 requests expired after the 2022 election, and only 160,000 had been renewed when the editorial was written. This will surprise many voters when they discover they are ineligible to vote by mail. In addition, other restrictions that prevent picking up ballots, for example, in cases of disabilities or the elderly, as well as developing an election crime division which was used to arrest individuals who were previously convicted of felony convictions and had returning citizens jailed for voting despite the State of Florida approving them and issuing voter registration cards. DeSantis was responsible for requiring these individuals to pay fees first before registration. The problem is that no guidelines are provided on calculating these fees consistently from county to county. This impacts African Americans, and a lawsuit has been filed to correct this failure. The danger is that all the tactics used translate into fewer individuals of the opposing party voting.
Attack on African-American History
Ron DeSantis and the Florida Department of Education made national headlines by not allowing Florida high school students to enroll in an Advanced Placement (AP) African American History course. It was stated that the system had little educational value, and he accused it of indoctrination because he disagreed with various topics presented. He believed these areas of history were not appropriate to learn. In addition, the required curriculum of African American history for Florida students was also weakened by noting that slaves somehow benefited from enslavement. Again, it softens the real dehumanization and minimalization of slavery as an evil institution. The interjection of a politician, especially a governor, into the classroom to deny courses because he disagrees with the content is unprecedented. Not teaching correct history dumbs future generations down. Most importantly, it prohibits Black youth from understanding their true history, heritage, ancestors, and who they are. It robs them of understanding who they are and their ancestral history while learning frankly about history being told from only a white perspective. This is alarming for the Black community at large. Carter G. Woodson stated:
If race has no history, if it has no worthwhile tradition, it becomes a negligible factor in the thought of the world, and it stands in danger of being exterminated.
Severing Black youth from Black History is a white supremacy move. Two definitions of white supremacy as taken from Merriam-Webster dictionary:
the belief that the white race is inherently superior to other races and that white people should have control over people of other races…. AND
the social, economic and political systems that collectively enable white people to maintain power over people of other races.
Having legislators without formal educational training in African-American history as a discipline deciding what is and is not appropriate to discuss relative to African-American history provides untrained, non-Black individuals the opportunity to define themselves. It amounts to someone imposing their beliefs about your heritage on you. As they control the narrative, the integrity of experiences will be minimized or even erased. This is an age-old tactic. Always remember the negative impact of the Daughters of the Confederacy on Black history.
Stay Woke Act and Indoctrination
Stop Wrongs to Our Kids and Employees Act, also called the Individual Freedom Act or Stop Woke Act, has impacted Black Floridians in several ways. The law restricts how race is discussed in the classroom and the workplace. The law provides the basis for book bans, often involving Black authors, those who write about the Black experience, and books about gays and other groups. This law also makes it illegal for companies to require employee training on implicit bias and cultural sensitivity training in the workplace. Finally, state universities' diversity, equity, and inclusion programs were defunded. These programs provide resources to help minorities and other marginalized groups matriculate through college, given their unique social, economic, and cultural disadvantages and differences if they choose to do so. Anything that acknowledges racial and social inequities, historically or presently, is countered and considered too “woke.”
In contrast, the Florida Department of Education approved a far-right curriculum from Prager University for use in Florida schools. This right-wing biased curriculum promotes the beliefs of Republicans and other right-wing advocates concerning racial and social injustices. The founder of this curriculum admits it was developed to indoctrinate children against “woke” ideology. Program officials intentionally brag that they intend to indoctrinate children while criticizing “woke” instruction by the left in schools with the following statement on its” website:
PragerU Kids defines itself as “Teaching American Values,” adding “Woke agendas are infiltrating classrooms, culture, and social media.
Yet, this curriculum was approved, and the AP African American history course was denied. According to the governor, the AP course and critical race theory (not taught in K-12) indoctrinates students. In the case of Prager, indoctrination is the goal, and its revision and minimization of African Americans is intentional and allowed. At this time, Florida is the only state in the nation that has approved this curriculum for instruction.
DeSantis has been linked with Christopher Rufo in an attempt to “turn back the clock on social programs.” The success of taking over New College and defunding diversity and equity efforts has received national attention. Christopher Rufo, the architect of the war against critical race theory and diversity, was appointed to the board of Trustees at this state-supported university by DeSantis to accomplish this. There is no love for diversity and equity efforts, which should concern Florida's African-American population.
There is a genuine attack on discussing African Americans' authentic and historical experiences in Florida and this country. For this reason, some Black churches have combined to teach an unfettered version so that students learn complete and accurate facts. African Americans did not benefit from slavery, as the governor and other officials have stated. It is imposing their beliefs on us, as discussed earlier.
School Vouchers
Beginning this year, parents can receive $8,000 when choosing not to enroll their child in public school in Florida. On the surface, the money can be used to help pay tuition and fees at private schools or when homeschooling. This money takes away from public schools where most of our predominantly Black and Hispanic children attend. Florida currently ranks 43rd out of 50 states for K-12 school funding at $11,773 per pupil.
A recent report just revealed that those parents receiving these funds for their children enrolled in private schools could use the money to purchase tickets to theme parks (Disney), 55-inch televisions, and kayaks, to name a few. According to a recent article in the Miami Herald, they also spent $43,374 on treadmills at home, which required pre-authorization; $30,436 on indoor trampolines; and $226,584 on game consoles—the complete 13-page document describing what is available. The 13-page document explaining how money left over can be spent is provided for review. It does not take much to see the disparity here.
Medicaid Expansion and Health Care.
The federal government provides 90% of the cost for states to expand Medicaid to reduce the number of individuals without health insurance. Florida is one of 10 states refusing to allow this expansion for people who make less than $20,120 annually (138% of the poverty level in 2023). Approximately 1.4 million individuals lack health insurance because of the refusal to expand Medicaid. In addition, about 5 billion dollars are “left on the table” because Florida refuses to accept this coverage. In addition, rural hospitals have also fared poorly financially because of the failure to expand coverage. Expanding Medicaid benefits to economically disadvantaged citizens of Florida should be a priority. This is especially important for individuals with chronic health concerns such as diabetes and hypertension, which are common in Black communities.
Is the Danger to the Black Community Real?
The answer is yes. According to Governor DeSantis, Florida is the freest State in America. In reality, it is only completely free to some.