NAACP President questioned over Florida travel advisory for Blacks after conflicting data surfaced. Watch video.

NAACP President Dismisses Data on Florida’s Safety for Black People as “Propaganda Language”

The president of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People called data undermining his position that Florida is unsafe for black people “propaganda language.”

NAACP president Derrick Johnson was recently asked on CNN about a statement from the Florida Chamber of Commerce describing the state as the “number-one spot in the United States for black-owned businesses.” Johnson dismissed the statement, saying, “First of all, this propaganda language over the last several years wasn’t because of anything [Florida governor Ron DeSantis (R.)] did in policy.”

The NAACP had previously issued a travel advisory warning black people to avoid traveling to Florida due to “openly hostile” policies. However, the advisory did not cite any figures. The Washington Free Beacon reported that data actually show that “black Floridians enjoy lower unemployment, higher median incomes, and lower rates of both hate crimes and police killings than their counterparts in other states.”

Florida’s Hate Crime Statistics

• Florida law enforcement reported 127 hate crimes against blacks in 2020
• Police in California reported 1,537 hate crimes against blacks in 2020
• New York reported 466 hate crimes against blacks in 2020

Exit polling from last year also showed that 13 percent of black Floridians supported DeSantis in his gubernatorial reelection. However, Johnson dismissed the numbers as “misleading and wrong,” saying, “Well, I have never seen an accurate exit poll in 30 years. And I’m surprised that you would repeat an exit poll number. Exit polls are historically wrong and misleading. Therefore, whatever the number or percentage of individuals who voted for him, that’s prior to these bad policies.”

It’s important to consider all available data when making claims about a state’s safety for a particular group of people. While the NAACP may have concerns about certain policies in Florida, it’s important to acknowledge the positive statistics as well.