Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is under fire from Democratic lawmakers for his administration’s rejection of an Advanced Placement African American Studies course for the state’s schools. Photo by Gary I Rothstein/UPI |
License PhotoJan. 20 (UPI) — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis continues to attract mounting criticism from Democratic lawmakers after the state recently banned an Advanced Placement African American Studies course from Florida schools, with the Biden administration weighing in on Friday by calling the ban “concerning.”
Earlier this month, the DeSantis administration sent a letter to the College Board Florida Partnership stating that “the content of this course is inexplicably contrary to Florida law and significantly lacks educational value.”
On Friday, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre called the move by Florida “incomprehensible,” while stressing the White House does not dictate curricula for public schools.
“If you think about the study of Black Americans, that is what [DeSantis] wants to block,” Jean-Pierre said.
“And let’s not forget: They didn’t ban … they didn’t block AP European history,” Jean-Pierre said. “They didn’t block our — our music history. They didn’t block our art history. But the state chooses to … block a course that is meant for high-achieving high school students to learn about their history of arts and culture.”
Sen. Shevrin Jones, the first openly gay and Black Florida state senator, took aim at DeSantis in a statement Thursday.
“Florida is doing its best to tilt the scales and shut down important, much-needed discussions of race, slavery, stolen lands, and undoable history that have led to where we are as a society today,” Jones said.
And a Democratic Florida Representative and the first Generation Z candidate elected to Congress also spoke out the same day. “Ron DeSantis wants to pretend that Black history isn’t American History. Leaders like him are the reason why Florida has seen a huge surge in hate crimes and acts of racism over the last two years,” Maxwell Frost tweeted Thursday.
A one-page document shared with CNN on Friday outlined the Florida Department of Education’s justification for rejecting the course. Among the reasons listed were alleged references within the course to Critical Race Theory, Black feminism, Black Lives Matter, and Black communism.
