In
his
ongoing attacks in what he describes as “woke
politics,”
Florida governor Ron DeSantis has denied
permission for an Advanced
Placement African American History course to
be taught in Florida
public high schools. As can be imagined,
reaction from many of the
political left was nothing short of swift and
fierce.
NAACP
Director
Ivory
Toldson
condemned the course’s rejection in a
statement on Friday: “Ron
DeSantis’ flippant
dismissal
of an AP African American Studies
course is not only a dereliction of his
duty to ensure equitable
education for all Floridians, but shows
clear disdain for the lives
and experiences that form part of our
national history. Dismissing
this important subject as lacking
‘educational value’ defies
centuries of evidence to the contrary.
African American history is
American history, and failure to
comprehend this very simple fact is
un-American in and of itself.”
New
York Rep. Ritchie Torres (D) - currently the
member of Congress who
is both Black and openly gay - similarly
tweeted:
“Florida has gone from Don’t Say Gay to Don’t
Say Black.”
Many other prominent celebrities, politicians
and regular citizens
weighed in on the issue as well.
What
is more perplexing or better yet, glaring, is
the fact of what
subjects were not omitted from the curriculum:
AP European History -
AP Art History - AP Japanese Language &
Culture - AP German
Language & Culture - AP Italian Language
& Culture - AP
Spanish Language & Culture. As can be
evidenced, courses from
various ethnic groups were given the green
light to be taught by the
governor’s office, yet the history, politics
and culture of people
of African descent was prohibited.
Thus,
it is blatantly evident that courses that
focused on Black people
were specifically targeted. Talk about racial
profiling! Moreover, in
an effort to cover his dishonest butt,
DeSantis stated on January
23rd that his reason for banning The AP Black
History course was due
to the fact that it supported queer studies.
So What?! That still is
no reason to prevent the teaching of the
course!
One
of the arguments that the governor has
employed to justify his
reductive antics is that he wants to make
certain that kids are not
made to feel ashamed or any degree of
discomfort or guilt about
themselves due to their race. It doesn’t take
a rocket scientist to
realize that he is referring to White students
here. Well, Governor
DeSantis should be aware of the following
truths. Non-White students,
in particular, Black students have routinely
been taught to feel
uncomfortable and ambivalent about the history
of their ancestors!
AND THAT’S THE TRUTH, RUTH!
Despite
what governor DeSantis and many of his allies
on the right would like
to believe, history is far from being a story
of blue skies and apple
pie! The brutal and psychological demoralizing
practice factors of
lynching, and Jim Crow perpetrated upon Black
Americans did occur!
The inhumane atrocities committed against
Jewish people during the
Holocaust was a reality! The sexism and
misogyny directed toward
Women took place! The various sorts of
physical, psychological
violence globally employed on LGBTQ people
actually happened! Indeed,
the truth is that history has been good, bad
and downright ugly!
The
fact is that young people, by and large, are
not ashamed to be
introduced to the realities of history. On the
contrary, they harbor
a ferocious hunger for the truth. Rather, it
is their parents and
elders that resent being confronted with
questions as to why they
failed to alert them (the youth) to such
truths!
Let’s
be candid! Although he has yet to announce, it
is hardly news that
DeSantis plans to run for president next year.
In fact, it is one of
the worst kept secrets in the world of
politics. Thus, as was the
case with his Martha’s Vineyard ploy, he knows
that espousing such
racially inflammatory commentary coupled with
enacting such racially
hostile/insulting legislation endears him to a
predominately White
right wing, MAGA base whose members fear the
supposed “great
replacement theory,” the arrival of new
immigrants and an endemic
degree of hostility toward anyone or anything
perceived as “the
other.” It is the personification of racism,
misogyny,
anti-Semitism, homophobia and xenophobia.
While
he lacks the same level of sinister charisma
that Donald Trump
embodies, only time will tell whether DeSantis
will become the 2024
GOP nominee and the 47th president of the
United States. However, for
the moment, he is feeding his wild-eyed
jingoistic supporters,
right-winged seasoned catnip to satisfy their
reactionary
intolerance. He must be combated at every
turn!
|