‘They’re Advocating For Things Like Abolishing Prisons’: DeSantis Discusses Why He Banned African American Studies Course

Florida Republican Governor Ron DeSantis He discussed the reasons he had for preventing public high schools from offering the AP African American Studies program currently in development by The University of Alabama. College Board.

Recent news from the Florida Department of Education informed the board that the course’s content is “inexplicably contrary to Florida law and significantly lacks educational value,” The state could reevaluate its course of action if the material is not received by it, he said. “lawful” “historically accurate.” DeSantis, who signed legislation last year preventing the state’s government schools from teaching discrimination on the basis of race, color, or sex, detailed a number of his concerns With the course in a conference.

“They’re advocating things like abolishing prisons. Now that’s a radical political position,” He told reporters. “You’re free to take that in your own life, I don’t think very many people think that would actually work, but how is that being taught as fact?”

DeSantis believes that radical left-wing content is being included in the AP African American Studies curriculum. This curriculum is currently under development. pilots At five dozen schools in the country, the policy is clearly at odds with those of racial minority groups.

“It’s not fair to say that somehow abolishing prisons is linked to black experiences, that that’s what black people want,” He went on. “I think they want law and order, just like anybody else wants law and order. So that is more ideology being used under the guise of history, and we want to do history.”

According to a survey, 28% of blacks support defunding police. poll Ipsos and USA Today both reported that 18% of people said the same. Another survey According to the University of Massachusetts Amherst, black respondents experienced some of the largest declines in affirmation of Black Lives Matter movements in recent months.

DeSantis stated that black history is not inherently different from the national history.

“That’s what our standards for black history are: it’s just cut-and-dry history. You learn all the basics, you learn about the great figures,” He made the comment. “I view it as American history. I don’t view it as separate history.”

Proponents of teaching African American History argue that it encourages holistic thinking about American history. However, some skeptics claim that the curriculum emphasizes narratives of left-wing grievance and advocacy. The College Board’s website suggests that a major in the subject can prepare a student for only one The organization suggests that students with a history degree can be prepared for activism, community organizing, and career fields. multitude Many career options are available, including law and anthropology.

The College Board has not yet made public the African American Studies Curriculum. They claim that the curriculum contains proprietary information. Before any national implementation, the course will likely undergo revisions.

After DeSantis launched the initiative, Florida continues to work towards removing politicized content from its government schools. overhaul in the state university system’s use of diversity initiatives. The chief executive asked postsecondary institutions for a brief description of each diversity initiative, as well as the amount of funding used and the percentage that was funded from taxpayer funds.

“We must ensure school systems are responsive to parents and to students, not partisan interest groups, and we must ensure that our institutions of higher learning are focused on academic excellence and the pursuit of truth, not the imposition of trendy ideology,” DeSantis made the following observation during his second inaugural address. “We will enact more family-friendly policies to make it easier to raise children and we will defend our children against those who seek to rob them of their innocence.”

Eric Quintanar contributed this report.