![]() In May the NAACP in May issued a travel advisory for Florida, criticizing the governor’s “aggressive attempts to erase Black history.” The new law prompted th e Osceola County school district to cancel a teacher workshop on the civil rights movement and the Duval County school district to temporarily keep from library shelves books on baseball stars Roberto Clemente and Hank Aaron for fear they might violate the new rules. Both were criticized as attempts to whitewash history. Ron DeSantis earlier this year rejected the Advanced Placement African American studies course under development by the College Board and last year championed a law that bans critical race theory and limits some race-related lessons. The teaching of African American history has been a controversial topic in Florida in recent years. “We’re going to have to have some tough conversations and what’s going on and how it has chilled the teaching of African American and African history, and I’m really looking forward to those conversations and the institute,” Walker said as the meeting opened. There were also sessions on “best practices” for teaching African American history, Black inventors, “the journey to Juneteenth: Contextualizing Emancipation for Students,” Black history sites in Florida and “What’s Right? What’s Wrong? What Can We Do? Voices from the Classroom.” The agenda for next week’s event included sessions on the state standards and talks by education department staff. The new standards aim to “strengthen” and “reinforce the teaching of the African American history” in Florida’s public schools, said John Duebel, the education department’s director of social studies, who ran the task force meeting.įlorida law for years required the teaching of African American history, but the new law (HB 551) passed this spring requires school districts to document their instruction plans to help make sure those lessons are being taught. Berny Jacques, a Republican from Pinellas County and newly appointed member, said he had conversations with education department staff and thought it would “be prudent” to delay. But all thought the new standards should be part of the teacher training event. The new members said they did not talk about the issue ahead of time. Later in the meeting, when it was clear the event would be postponed, Wright said: “I think this has been one of the most asinine discussions I’ve had in a long time as a professional.” “I’m a little livid,” he said, noting he and others who planned to speak or attend the institute next week would not necessarily be available later in the summer and saying it was wrong to cancel a week before the event. Samuel Wright, a retired USF administrator, was more blunt.
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