FL Black caucus condemns Ron DeSantis

“This governor has proven, without fail, that he has no interest in protecting Black history, no interest in helping Floridians, and absolutely no interest in anything beyond his ridiculous presidential ambitions,” Jacksonville Sen. Tracie Davis wrote in a statement from the caucus on Thursday.

As he faces national backlash from both Democrats and Republicans, DeSantis continues to defend the standards approved last month by the State Board of Education. Earlier this week, the governor went as far as challenging Vice President Kamala Harris to visit him in Tallahassee to debate those standards, which included the assertion that enslaved people learned valuable skills.

Now, the Black Caucus is calling out DeSantis for his challenge to the vice president. Neither DeSantis nor his office consulted any of the caucus members about the new stand-alone strand of African American history standards, according to the caucus’ press release Thursday.

“It is obvious that he is not serious about defending or explaining the lies of these standards because not once has he or his office reached out to the members of the FLBC to discuss this curriculum,” wrote Rep. Dianne Hart from Hillsborough County. She is the chair of the caucus. “Not during the formulation nor prior to the implementation. If he is serious about having an actual conversation and hearing why slavery provided no benefit to enslaved people we welcome the opportunity.”

State Sen. Geraldine Thompson of Orange County has been a long-standing member of the state’s African American History Task Force. She wrote that she wasn’t consulted, making it clear that DeSantis and Commissioner of Education Manny Diaz, Jr. didn’t want a broad perspective.

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