In case you didn’t know…
I don’t know if you know what’s been going on in Florida. Their Governor has chosen to go full-on fascist. There is the full-blown attack on education. The banning of books. The attack on the AP African-American History course.
The attack on that course, is an attack on Black people. It’s an attempt to whitewash and eliminate our history. Black History IS American History. We are the quintessential Americans.
The fragility of White folks to face what their ancestors did, and the legacy of those actions, is what’s at the bottom of all of this.
I have believed for years that the reason why Black people are so hated is because our very existence is what strips their fairy tale delusions about America.
WOKE is the latest Lee Atwater-ization for ‘ Nigger’.
Plain and simple.
Make no mistake – they whine about wanting Free Speech.
They have Free Speech.
They want freedom from the consequences of said speech. They want to party like it’s 1922.
They want to destroy the public school system in Florida by making it a FELONY for teachers to stand up against banning books. And, if a teacher is charged with a felony, they – 1. Can’t get a teaching job, and 2. Can’t vote in many states. It’s all connected.
At least four more states – Arkansas, Virginia, North Dakota and Mississippi – will “review the new AP African American studies course to see if it conflicts with their policies or laws restricting the teaching of race” https://t.co/hhAtxpss1P
— philip lewis (@Phil_Lewis_) February 19, 2023
And, as for these other states joining in, all part of the right- wing attempt to eliminate Black History from our public discourse. That North Dakota joined in , is complete bullshyt. They want to eliminate the history of Native People from the educational sphere.
It is up to us to point this out.
If non-White children have to experience racism in present time…
Then White children can actually LEARN about it….
Their children are not more precious than ours.
We WILL NOT have our children’s experience invalidated and gaslit and told that they are just ‘imagining’ their reality.
Ron DeSantis has banned a book first graders were reading “The Life of Rosa Parks” from its already very bare bookshelves. Next up, Ron DeSantis bans Blacks from Florida and anyone else he deems as “woke.” #FreshResists pic.twitter.com/tnJ45R19ON
— LanaQuest aka RosaSparks (@LqLana) February 21, 2023
Ron DeSantis: “Banning black history books doesn’t make me a racist.”
Me: “Of course not. Being a racist makes you ban black history books.”
— Captain Obvious (@TheFungi669) February 21, 2023
UPDATE: Brian Covey, a full-time substitute teacher in Duval County, Florida, was FIRED for posting a video of empty bookshelves.
This is the REAL STORY about why those shelves were empty and why Covey was let go pic.twitter.com/fjpYiehwgJ
— Judd Legum (@JuddLegum) February 21, 2023
3. @DuvalSchools says the books will be restored following a review by a certified media specialist, as now required by law
The only problem: Mandarin Middle School like most schools in the county, doesn't have a media specialist
— Judd Legum (@JuddLegum) February 21, 2023
5. Thus far, Duval County's 54 certified media specialists have reviewed and approved 6,000 books.
That means 99.725% OF THE BOOKS IN THE DUVAL COUNTY SCHOOL SYSTEM REMAIN INACCESSIBLE TO STUDENTS
— Judd Legum (@JuddLegum) February 21, 2023
7. DeSantis made his comments on February 14.
On February 15, Covey received a 45-second phone call saying he was terminated.
The staffing company that placed him said he violated the social media and cell phone policy.
This is the only documentation Covey has received. pic.twitter.com/nI0eJR6VbP
— Judd Legum (@JuddLegum) February 21, 2023
9. The "fake narrative" was being pushed by DeSantis, who claimed the vetting process for books is easy and the only books that need to be removed are ones that "99% of people realize [are] wrong" pic.twitter.com/GfN7gcYi48
— Judd Legum (@JuddLegum) February 21, 2023
DeSantis is taking his white nationalist plan on the road. He knows Staten Island is filled with racists. Be careful and stay vigilant. They’re emboldened with hate. https://t.co/e7DxSI3HI4
— THEEAudacity (@ArrogantNBlack) February 21, 2023
A week after #Florida’s high school sports association decided against requiring students to report their menstrual cycles, state lawmakers moved to give @GovRonDeSantis control over the board. https://t.co/CWYSg3HgdN via @lmower3
— Craig Pittman (@craigtimes) February 16, 2023
DeSantis (& red states) are unlikely to stop w/AP Black Studies: "Tate [said] the College Board’s SAT has become “increasingly ideological” due to having “censored the entire Christian-Catholic intellectual tradition” & other “thinkers in…Western thought”https://t.co/EpKt26xMfy
— Ronald Brownstein (@RonBrownstein) February 20, 2023
This absolutely illustrates how INSANE Ron DeSantis’ policies are. It’s utterly impossible unless each teacher has at least half a dozen assistants. https://t.co/LmbW8zAvjf
— Concerned Canadian 🇨🇦 (@CandyisDandy100) February 18, 2023
Jeff Timmer (@jefftimmer) tweeted at 0:31 PM on Thu, Feb 23, 2023:
Every single state that voted for Donald Trump in 2020 receives more federal dollars than it contributes. Every. Single. Goddam. One. Fund. Their. State. Budgets. With. Money. Paid. By. Blue. State. Taxpayers.
(https://twitter.com/jefftimmer/status/1628824839829028864?s=02)
Renee (@PettyLupone) tweeted at 3:04 PM on Thu, Feb 23, 2023:
I was just commending MVP Harris on how she consistently empowers young leaders. #BHM
Today, she met with a group of HBCU student journalists at the White House. They discussed small businesses, climate change, and the importance of using their unique voices. 1/3 https://t.co/qINcvDxyWD
(https://twitter.com/PettyLupone/status/1628863298212093952?s=02)
As it should be. They have paid their debt to society.
Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) tweeted at 11:00 AM on Thu, Feb 23, 2023:
The Minnesota Senate has approved the largest voting-rights expansion in the state in half a century through a bill that would permit felons to vote again upon leaving jail or prison. Democratic Gov. Tim Walz has said he will sign the bill.
(https://twitter.com/kylegriffin1/status/1628801868175646720?s=02)
The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) tweeted at 7:01 AM on Thu, Feb 23, 2023:
The disclosure of behind-the-scenes emails and texts greatly increased the chances that Dominion will wins its $1.6 billion defamation lawsuit against Fox, experts say. https://t.co/zASXRjgMOD
(https://twitter.com/washingtonpost/status/1628741776981852160?s=02)
HBCU Buzz (@HBCUBuzz) tweeted at 10:31 AM on Thu, Feb 23, 2023:
🙌🏾 @BowieState has become the 1st #HBCU to receive a $1.5M grant from the U.S. Department of Education’s Augustus F. Hawkins Centers of Excellence program that will support the Bowie Black Male Educators Project. #HBCUBUZZ #BowieBOLD https://t.co/snnhxIPkZ8
(https://twitter.com/HBCUBuzz/status/1628794712344723456?s=02)
Jeremy C. Young (@jeremycyoung) tweeted at 3:49 PM on Thu, Feb 23, 2023:
FL HB 999 would end academic freedom, shared governance, and university independence in FL public higher education in favor of one man’s authoritarian control of public university decisions. It would be the end of FL higher ed as a space of open inquiry and free expression.
(https://twitter.com/jeremycyoung/status/1628874597520097282?s=02)
Jeremy C. Young (@jeremycyoung) tweeted at 3:43 PM on Thu, Feb 23, 2023:
“Critical Race Theory rhetoric” also cannot be used in the hiring process — whatever that means. There’s a lot of “whatever that means” language in here, enforced by bureaucrats of DeSantis’ choosing.
(https://twitter.com/jeremycyoung/status/1628873329858805761?s=02)
Jeremy C. Young (@jeremycyoung) tweeted at 3:42 PM on Thu, Feb 23, 2023:
All gen ed courses must promote “the values necessary to preserve the constitutional republic” through traditional, historically accurate” coursework. “Courses based on unproven, theoretical, or exploratory content” are banned from gen ed; the ban enforced by DeSantis appointees.
(https://twitter.com/jeremycyoung/status/1628873012740075523?s=02)
Jeremy C. Young (@jeremycyoung) tweeted at 3:36 PM on Thu, Feb 23, 2023:
As outlined in the release, the bill would ban diversity statements, make tenure and faculty hiring committees meaningless, and centralize control of core curricula and mission statements in the hands of political appointees. Unexpectedly, it would also ban gender studies majors.
(https://twitter.com/jeremycyoung/status/1628871359328649217?s=02)
Jeremy C. Young (@jeremycyoung) tweeted at 3:31 PM on Thu, Feb 23, 2023:
The text of DeSantis’ higher education bill has been released. It’s as terrifying as the press release suggested it would be. Florida HB 999 would enact the most draconian and censorious restrictions on higher education in the history of this country. https://t.co/mTsNuSryt4
(https://twitter.com/jeremycyoung/status/1628870290745790464?s=02)
Truth. We have been here almost half a millennia. We literally built this country.
https://vm.tiktok.com/ZTRnUbGp2/
Good Morning, Everyone😊😊😊