With the recent release of its updated African American History curriculum, the State of Florida goes out of its way to highlight its assertion that enslaved Black individuals gained skills during slavery that they were able to use for their personal benefit.
This troubling development is just one part of the ongoing assault, particularly accelerated by reactionary Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, on the realization of a plural, multiracial, and inclusive democracy that we all rightfully deserve.
Numerous informed and thoughtful commentaries have shed light on the methods and consequences of these efforts, which we highly recommend exploring.
It is crucial to note that the current controversy surrounding Florida’s Black History curriculum underscores a series of significant issues that demand equal, if not greater, attention:
- Michael Harriot, “Florida’s Black History Standards Are Even Worse Than Reported,” The Grio (July 27, 2023),
These distortions of American history are part of a broader ideological project that supports American White Supremacy and White Nationalism, and Ron DeSantis is just one of several rising figures associated with it:
- Janai Nelson, Ron DeSantis Wants to Erase Black History. Why?, The New York Times, https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/31/opinion/ron-desantis-black-history.html?action=click&module=RelatedLinks&pgtype=Article (January 31, 2023)
- Jamelle Bouie, Ron DeSantis and the State Where History Goes to Die, The New York Times, https://www.nytimes.com/2023/07/28/opinion/desantis-slavery-florida-curriculum-history.html (July 28, 2023)
- Charles M. Blow, Black History Is a Casualty in Ron DeSantis’s Christian Nationalist Quest, The New York Times, https://www.nytimes.com/2023/07/26/opinion/desantis-slavery.html (July 26, 2023)
- Jamelle Bouie, Ron DeSantis Likes His Culture Wars for a Reason, The New York Times, https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/24/opinion/desantis-florida-culture-w.html (January 24, 2023)
The ongoing experiences of Black and other marginalized communities illustrate how the dissemination of racial and economic misinformation, masquerading as academic knowledge through state-approved curricula, can have long-term detrimental consequences. Florida’s recent African American history standards are just one example of these dangerous deficiencies, but they shed light on the actions of individuals like United States Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts, United States Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, as well as their fellow travelers with reactionary views. Their myth-based, distorted worldview results in public policies that inflict suffering upon all of us.
Professor James W. Loewen explores these themes and helps us understand how the harmful myths we teach about our country, its founding, its past, and its present hinder our ability to achieve our fullest collective potential. For more insights, we recommend reading James W. Loewen’s book, Lies My Teacher Told Me: Everything Your American History Textbook Got Wrong (The New Press, 2018).
written by: Alex Rundlet, Chair
graphics by: Ithan Payne