Florida Department of Education: “We are not turning our backs on the great work of the African American History workgroup”
Updated at 10:25 p.m. with the AP African American Studies Topic
BY JENNIFER CABRERA
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – The Florida Department of Education today sent a letter to all Florida School District Superintendents, stating that the department is “not turning our backs on the great work of the African American History workgroup.”
The new African American History standards have generated a great deal of media attention, including a visit to Jacksonville by Vice President Kamala Harris. Tina Certain, Chair of the Alachua County School Board, inaccurately claimed last week that the standards referred to “indentured servitude” instead of “slavery” and said, “And that’s an insult, I think, to everyone.”
The letter states that the Biden Administration has “intentionally misrepresented our groundbreaking work” by “an august group of African American scholars and Florida educators utilizing a rigorous process, and we couldn’t be happier with the results. The standards are supported by historical accounts of African Americans, including slaves and their immediate descendants.”
In the letter, Florida Commissioner of Education Manny Diaz states that the Department “will be moving forward with implementing Florida’s new history standards. Despite this partisan and inaccurate criticism we have received, Florida’s thorough standards promote the teaching of accurate, detailed, and nuanced history free from political sanitation or indoctrination.” In response to some of the criticisms, Diaz points out that the standards “teach about the Ocoee Massacre, the brutal injustices of slavery, and a robust focus on the civil rights movement.”
Diaz says the Department’s social studies team members will prepare professional learning that will guide educators as they implement the “new, robust African American History standards.”
The letter recommends that Superintendents “instruct the appropriate administrators and educators in your district to begin reviewing their lesson plans to ensure they build out adequate time to teach these African American History standards. It will accrue to the benefit of our students.”
The standards can be found here, and an abridged list is available at the end of this article.
AP African American Studies course includes a similar topic
Governor DeSantis’ Press Secretary Jeremy Redfern announced this evening that the AP African American Studies course rejected by the State of Florida because of Critical Race Theory content includes a very similar “essential knowledge” topic.
The topic, found on page 72 of the course framework, states, “In addition to agricultural work, enslaved people learned specialized trades and worked as painters, carpenters, tailors, musicians, and healers in the North and South. Once free, American [sic] Americans used these skills to provide for themselves and others.”
After all the years of teaching the real history of slavery why change now, what are the motives behind the changes. Are white folks so ashamed of themselves the want to rewrite history to dress up our past? Pretty sick minded to even think you can fool future generations with this garbage.
Bill
It appears that some people are reading something into the words which is confusing the narrative.
I would suggest reading the book by Victor Frankel;
“Man’s search for meaning “
He was a prisoner at four different Nazi concentration camps but he managed to endure and survive.
It sounds like somebody should write a book for kids that gives a fair, balanced view of black history without any woke garbage. Not another grievance and victimhood manual.
It probably needs to include ideas like – some slaves who were treated well probably lived more comfortably and with nicer things than very poor farmers who had no slaves – because it’s true. Perpetuating the idea that everybody was whipped with whips and forced to live like animals in barns is not accurate even if it helps the race hustlers today.
Wow, slavery sounds like it was a pretty sweet deal, with white people making all those sacrifices. If anything, it was probably unfair that white people couldn’t sign up. I’m sure a common lament back then was, “I sure wish I were a slave; they got it made!”
Slavery has been around since the pre history. Yet, for some reason, Africans are the only people that seem to use it as a reason to explain their own failure to compete or even to assimilate to American life with Whites. If you have Irish heritage as a Southerner, there is a good chance your ancestors were brought here shortly after the founding as indentured servants. Which was worse than slavery seeing that your food, clothing, medical care and housing wasn’t provided for and your family was often actually split up unlike the myth told to blacks that they were separated from their families.
Under jim crow, blacks had a lower rate of crime and out of wedlock marriage than Whites but I’m led to believe that it was a terrible time just because a non white criminal was held responsible for their actions unlike today. Where severe crimes were answered with sever punishment.
In the reconstruction Whites weren’t allowed to vote and blacks were forced into political office. Unleashed on the population as a biological weapon by the Yankee after the war of Northern aggression. Until Whites stood up for themselves and took the power back.
In fact it wouldn’t be the last time the government has unleashed Africans on an occupied people as a weapon
https://nationaljusticeparty.com/2023/07/22/the-rampant-black-violence-on-american-military-bases/
We can’t start looking for solutions to our racial problems in our country until we can have an honest discussion about race. By that I don’t mean the anti White discussion that has been held until now.
Spot on! Thank you!
That seems to be what most people on the left are saying nowadays… “Take my mind away and turn me into a mindless NPC slave who believes what Jimmy Kimmell and Rachel Maddow tell me to! I does what I is told by my media masters!”
https://www.blackinventionmyths.com/
https://www.blackinventionmyths.com/
This is an amazing piece of historical work and shows how truth can be distorted over time.
And it also proves that none alive today were around back then therefore, no one really knows what is actually true or what is not. We only know what someone else has recorded and now it’s referred to as history.
I’m disgusted by all of this nonsense and rhetoric. It’s really simple. If everyone respected the human race, we wouldn’t have as many issues as we have. You have to be a whole idiot to think that anyone chose to be the race/ color they are. There are none who are perfect or exempt from the troubles of life and if anyone thinks they are better than or should have more than anyone else based on the color of their skin, white or black, they are wrong, wrong, wrong. All this rhetoric about slavery and what did/did not happen is just another distraction to avoid having real conversations and outcomes about any person who is treated differently because they are different (i.e. man vs woman, fat vs skinny, gay vs straight, Christian vs Catholic, short vs tall, ugly vs pretty, etc.)
I am encouraged by what I see when it comes to the younger generation because you can’t just tell them anything and they believe it. So, the chances of them being indoctrinated, are slim to none unless we continue to spread untruths as we have for the past decades/ centuries. By the way, Columbus DID NOT discover America.
The educational machine as a whole has lied to our children for decades about Black, Japanese, Italian, German history in America.
If the ‘card’ is the source of contention, let’s play the whole deck.
The liberal left educators, politicians have force fed our grammar school kids a steady diet of lies & fabricated history.
Don’t believe it, do the research yourself.
African Americans make up approximately 12% of the American population. Looking at our local school boards and county commission you would think that number was closer to 40%. And it’s still not enough. These people will continue to cry Racism, Racism, Racism, and you all will continuously be duped into giving them what they want it seems.
No surprise this is happening in a former confederate slave state.
Oh my God! Say it ain’t so! This committee (African American committee by the way) wants to teach kids a lesson about the resiliency of slaves, of how, even in the worst of circumstances, some people rose above! That’s awful!
Of course I get why regressives are so angry about this. They view everything through a lens of negativity. But I wonder if VP Kammy will have a response to the fact that THIS VERY SAME LESSON was included in the original proposed curriculum for this course.
What this really amounts to is regressives are scared of DeSantis. They see the polls which say he would beat Biden, but Trump won’t. So they, and their willing left-wing media accomplices, are doing everything they can to keep DeSantis from winning. All while whining out of the other sides of their mouths how undemocratic they think he is.
Wait, DeSantis is now saying that he’s not behind any of this…. I’m so confused.
What a ridiculous argument. Would the same standard apply to women and girls captured and enslaved in the sex industry? It’s an asinine argument and a terrible recast of the immoral condition of slavery, period. There are so many other things worthy of our attention than these culture wars waged by politicians. Stop interfering in public education, and dragging taxpayers into losing legal battles of government overreach.
How about go back to New York? Oh wait it’s because diversity has enriched the North so much. Keep your opinion to yourself and get out, carpet bagger.
Good points NY, and of course proven by the knee jerk reaction just below it. Well, hell yes, diversity is what the US is about, a fact established by our settling with wave after wave of immigrants from all over the world, even if some were not welcome early on. We not only are a highly productive economy, but a cultural dynamo on the world stage, and guess what. Very little of that is from the descendants of England – and I am one. Very much of it is from blacks via their assimilation with western food and music. Hey, boiled potatoes and square dancing, or barbecue and funk? Boiled beef and waltzes, or enchiladas and C&W? Sports? Shut up! Hey, who’s pouring concrete in the sun, going to our med schools, and working the night shift cleaning the airport?
Americans should be proud of our diversity which is unlike anyplace else in the world, and the world knows it.
It’s funny you didn’t respond to my other comments because you can’t refute what I said. Also you being an anglo makes all your comments on this site make way more sense.
All of our music isn’t from blacks but European folk music. The blacks created “x” music is all bs. Yea totally, noone boiled beef or potatoes before the god men showed poor whitey how to do everything.
Also Americans can do these jobs, it’s bs that “noone” wants to do them. But thanks for being a shill for big Capital and being ok with importing a new slave caste. Which is not surprising coming from an anglo.
Yea we need their food lmao it’s not like we can just follow recipes and make it better ourselves without the added fecal matter.
The modern era of mass production would have let the South surpass the North and even European industrial production and wealth. Because that’s what China did today. That’s the real reason the North opposed the Confederacy, they’d unfairly use endless slave labor.
Forget the Dem history distractions and fight what the Biden crime family is doing: making deals with commie slave owners today!
Jennifer, the real point is who trusts the DeSantis appointed Board of Education to write a curriculum that is not politically correct? His entire goal in pursuing this is political spin of history. Given his hostility to black citizens in Florida – see his forcing a Congressional redistricting which targeted and removed 2 out of 4 black Florida congressmen, not too mention other democratic seats. (Florida has 17% blacks and now 7% congressional representation. Democrats have 28% of Florida seats with party registration just under Republican numbers and razor thin state election results until 2022. It is one of the most gerrymandered maps in the country, and like everything DeSantis does, under legal challenge.) See also his moves to make it more difficult for blacks and poor people to vote and the GOP’s successful crippling of the wildly popular constitutional amendment to restore voting rights to felons who had served their time. Blacks are obstacles and enemies to the state GOP and they have shown zero acknowledgement of their existence as citizens who’s rights need protection.
Bro I’m the farthest thing from a conservative and everything I have ever seen you comment is just drivel. I’m tired of seeing it.
So let’s meet up and throw some hands. You’re probably too chicken but let’s do this. Give me a way to contact you and we’ll set it up and meet somewhere.
You’re not the only one posting here who is not a conservative – most aren’t. Go back to your comic book if you’re tired of reading what I write. And no, I’m not interested in making personal connections with random kooks from the internet.
Alachua County School Board leading the way with “knee jerk” comments on a curriculum document they have not read! Certain is simply an agitator, following Democratic Party, NAACP, and all the money hungry teacher’s unions as they continue to financially enslave their “constituents!”
They cannot let America get away from Critical Race Theory, white supremacy, inherent racism, and on and on! Their paychecks depend on keeping Black Americans dependent on monthly paychecks from good old Uncle Sam!
These organizations have to condemn anything that is not in their best financial interest! Continue to agitate Black Americans so they don’t get called out to identify exactly what they (these organizations) have done for Black Americans since Affirmative Action, and Civil Rights, infancy under John F. Kennedy! They haven’t done a thing!
I see a lot of condemnation of the African American History Standards, published in the AC article on 22 July 23. I have read the list of subject areas and it appears to be a rather comprehensive course of study.
I guess the opponents of this Program of Instruction (POI) want to include coverage of the individual atrocities Black slaves endured during this period of American History. Yes, they were terrible! Did anyone on this board suffer through this time? Is there a slave holder on this board right now? I don’t think so.
If we want to include micro level facts of Worldwide/American slavery, do we have to go back and rewrite the POIs for Native American history, or Germans who were NOT in Hitler’s Nazi Party? What about the history of the Chinese Communist Party and the atrocities they commit daily?
So many issues that affect the majority of Americans and we let these above named loser organizations continue to stir up hatred in our country!
Recently a UFO landed in my back yard (story at a later date). The alien spacepersons were nice enough to use their time machine to fetch a 2026 edition of a GOP approved high school history book. Some excerpts:
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Preface: President DeSantis by executive order requires this non-woke history book to be used nationwide.
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Chapter 8: History of the So Called “Slavery” in the Old South
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Several hundred years ago poor uneducated residents of that cz!th*!e country known as Africa decided to emigrate to find a better life. They learned of a place with great welfare benefits where everyone gets free food, free housing, jobs training and guaranteed jobs plus a new religion featuring a brown skinned Jewish kid. They marched to the coast and stole some ships from the Spanish and Portuguese. (As NonChristian heathens, stealing was approved by their voodoo gods.) They sailed to Charleston, marched to the slave auction, and voluntarily sold themselves as slaves chanting “Republican Massa gwane give us Jobs Skills Training.” Hence free lessons in cotton picking.(Books written by woke liberal Yankee abolitionists often have a different version of this True GOP Approved History.)
Dem leaders were hoping to start an endless “color revolution” here like they meddled up in Ukraine and other countries.