Florida high school students will learn that slavery gave black people “skills” that could in “some cases” be “used for their personal gain”
Florida high school students must learn that slavery taught black people “skills” that could be used “for their personal benefit,” in a new curriculum.
Florida’s Board of Education approved new rules for teaching black history in the state at a public meeting in Orlando on Wednesday.
A 216-page document on the Florida Department of Education website provides new instructions for high school teachers.
This includes how students should be taught “how slaves developed skills, which in some cases could be applied for their personal benefit.”
Other instructions include notable massacres against African Americans which will change to note that they had also played a part in the violence.
At Wednesday’s meeting, Education Commissioner Manny Diaz Jr, pictured here, decided to go ahead and implement the standards
Florida Governor and Republican presidential nominee Ron DeSantis at the Celebrate Freedom Foundation Hangar in West Columbia, SC Tuesday
The Ococee Massacre of 1920, in which between 30 and 35 African Americans died after being attacked by a mob, requires the doctrine to declare “acts of violence” committed “against and by African Americans.”
Those who died in Ococee had been trying to vote when the carnage broke out.
Similar practices will also be used for other massacres, including the Atlanta massacre, the Tulsa massacre, and the Rosewood massacre.
Students are also expected to identify famous African Americans, including Rosa Parks, but are not expected to understand why these people are important, nor detail their history or struggles.
Numerous teachers objected to the new rules and asked that the proposals be suspended.
Science teacher Carol Cleaver told attendees at the meeting, “These new standards present only half the story and half the truth.
“If we name political figures who worked to end slavery, but leave unnamed everyone who worked to keep slavery legal, children are forced to fill in the blanks for themselves.”
Speaking at the meeting, Education Commissioner Manny Diaz, Jr. said, “What we should strive for is to provide our students with all this information and let them formulate their own opinions.
“That’s what real learning is.”
The photos above from the extensive publication show changes that would be implemented in the curriculum
Education commissioner Manny Diaz Jr said they should let kids formulate their own opinions
MaryLynn Magar, a member appointed by Governor Ron DeSantis, countered the backlash from teachers, saying “everything is there” and that the darkest parts of American history are being addressed.
In a statement from the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), they called the curriculum “cleansed and unfair.”
Their president and CEO, Derrick Johnson, said, “The actions of the Florida state government are an attempt to return our country to a 19th century America where black lives were not valued and our rights were not protected.
It is imperative that we understand that the horrors of slavery and Jim Crow were a human rights violation and represent the darkest period in American history. We refuse to go back.
“The NAACP has been fighting malicious actors, such as those within the DeSantis administration, for more than a century, and we stand ready to continue that battle by any means necessary.
Our children deserve nothing less than truth, justice and fairness for which our ancestors shed blood, sweat and tears.
NAACP President Derrick Johnson said the decision was an attempt to “return our country to a 19th-century America”
Governor DeSantis had previously voted for legislation to allow parents to file lawsuits against school districts accused of teaching critical race theory
The Florida Education Association, a statewide teachers’ union, said in a statement: “The Florida State Board of Education today passed new African-American history standards.
In doing so, they confirmed many of the worst fears educators had when the Stop Woke Act was signed into law last year.
“These new standards are doing Florida students a disservice and are a major setback for the state, which has been required to teach African American history since 1994.”
Their statement continued, “No matter what they look like or where they come from, all of our children should have the freedom to learn the full and honest history of our nation.”
In a joint statement, Dr. William Allen and Dr. Frances Presley Rice, members of Florida’s African American History Standards Workgroup, said: “Our working group began in February and worked through May to ensure that the new standards provide comprehensive and rigorous instruction on African American history.”
“We proudly stand behind these African American History Standards.”
This latest push for change in Florida’s curriculum comes after Governor DeSantis passed legislation banning education in schools that suggest that someone is privileged or oppressed based on their race or color.
DeSantis also previously unveiled the Stop WOKE bill, which would allow parents to file lawsuits against school districts accused of teaching critical race theory.