HeadToHead On the Florida and Slavery Controversy

n fifth grade, my classmates and I were taught that slavery was not that bad. Why? Because our enslaved ancestors were provided with free food, water, and shelter, my teacher said. That was Georgia in the mid-2000s, but fast forward to 2023. Middle school students in Florida will now be taught that free skill development was another upside of slavery.

In Order for Americans To Love Our Country in Full, They Must Acknowledge Its History in Full

To make sure we are all on the same page here, let us recall that slavery involved over 12 million Africans being dragged from their homes and thrown onto ships headed to the Americas. The bodies of the nearly two million of those men, women, and children who died during the treacherous Middle Passage journey were thrown overboard to feed hungry sharks. Those who reached American shores were rewarded with a lifetime of hard labor, abuse, degradation, and violation.

In her Nobel Prize-winning novel, Beloved–which is now banned in libraries and schools across Florida–Toni Morrison describes slavery as a jungle that spread so horribly that even white folks were “so scared…of the jungle they had made.” This jungle has since evolved into a system of oppression so pervasive that years later, we can spot signs of it in every corner of society: mass incarceration, economic inequality, racial disparities in education, and more.

H ow then can anyone argue that enslaved people benefited from their bondage? For some, this egregious bastardization of history is driven by a blind sense of so-called patriotism that forbids the acknowledgment of any wrongdoing on the part of the United States. (These are the same folks who proclaim, “America is not a racist country” to shut down uncomfortable conversations regarding structural inequality, privilege, and inevitably, slavery.)

Others believe that since slavery was abolished over 150 years ago, it should cease to be a topic of conversation altogether. And then there are those who would rather dilute the horrors of slavery than acknowledge the truth: that white people–not enslaved people–benefited and continue to benefit from the institution of slavery.

While Black people were run into the ground, white people (specifically white men) were running their respective races to advance their educations, further their careers, and build generational wealth. Even after slavery, formerly enslaved people and their descendants received reparations in the forms of convict leasing, Jim Crow, segregation, redlining, and other discriminatory practices that have caused existing inequities to grow even deeper.

Today, there are Republican politicians in Florida–as well as states throughout the country–who hope that we will forget about the story of the jungle. But because they know that will not just happen, they are doing everything in their power to erase it from the minds of young leaders by erasing it from lesson plans and curricula. However, as Vice President Harris declared in Jacksonville in July: we will not have it. We know that revising–or even worse, denying–the history of slavery is erroneous and dangerous. When that occurs, our nation’s future leaders are hoodwinked and hamstrung in their ability to fix what is broken in this country. For that reason, we continue to speak out against these efforts and demand that students have the freedom to learn–and teachers have the freedom to teach–the full, accurate history of our nation, no matter how painful and shameful some of that history might be. In so doing, we allow our fellow citizens to grapple with that history and channel their emotions toward progress.

At this very moment, we are in a national reckoning; one in which leaders on both sides of the aisle are denouncing this recent attempt to so grossly misrepresent history. It is up to us to do more than just denounce and condemn because we have an opportunity to pitch an affirmative vision for the future we want for America: a future in which all students fully know their country so that

We are on week #2 of the press, Democrats, and the Biden administration continuing to deliver the same scathing narrative that Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is commanding Florida schools to revise the historical impact of slavery. Media outlets have been delivering red-faced punditry, and the White House saw fit to send Vice President Kamala Harris to the Sunshine State to deliver a rebuke of a speech, decrying that anyone would dare say slavery benefitted black people. It is all so deeply dramatic serving as a case of grand theater. Unsurprisingly, it is all rooted in a lie.

The Lie About Florida Schools and Slavery Gets Completely Exposed

sentence that enslaved people developed skills that "could be applied for their personal benefit."

Just take a moment to absorb the lack of enormity behind this — "a sentence." The course guide that was issued is over 200 pages, with numerous modules listed therein and multiple revisions under those modules. PolitiFact even listed out the numerous horrors of slavery that are (and have always been) included in the lessons in Florida schools. Yet, despite this wealth of content and teaching of all aspects of slavery, they approve of Kamala — and the press — reclassifying the entire curriculum based on a solitary sentence.

To set the stage properly, in order to reboot this storyline, first understand it is all centered on the fact that the Florida Department of Education recently issued revisions to all school curriculums in the coming year. In the guidebook for the middle school courses, under the topic of Social Studies, there was found to be an entry concerning the skills that some slaves acquired and were able to apply later in their lives. This has been cited as the revisionism of the reality of slavery and suggests blacks, as a race, benefitted from that era of our history. It reads:

“Examine the various duties and trades performed by slaves (e.g., agricultural work, painting, carpentry, tailoring, domestic service, blacksmithing, transportation). Instruction includes how slaves developed skills which, in some instances, could be applied for their personal benefit.”

To grasp the extent of this portion of the course guide, we get the full impact from PolitiFact. In their defense of the vice president's claims, the fact-checkers declared Harris was "Mostly True" in her speech slamming FDOE and Ron DeSantis. But in the course of doing so, the outlet manages to expose the sham behind it all:

“Although the new standards include many conventional lesson points about the history of slavery, they also include a

Now arrives a completely disqualifying detail that will see all these critics and mewling media mouthpieces reduced to silence. Ron DeSantis' Press Secretary Jeremy Redfern delivers a piece of information that will not sit well with these prevaricating critics, as it concerns the previous controversy surrounding the Florida schools' curriculum. Recall there was significant upheaval when the governor rejected a new course foundation offered up to the FDOE, the debated AP African American History. This course was sent to be revised due to the inclusion of inaccurate social activist lectures, heavy amounts of Critical Race Theory, and other elements not foundational to accurate history teachings.

This resulted in very similar claims being made, where it was said Florida was eliminating black history. Understand this rejection was of a new curriculum being proposed, not eliminating existing teachings of black history. This is because Florida law mandates that black history, slavery, and the Holocaust be taught in Florida schools. Already, we see that the politicization of these decisions is not rooted in facts.

Now comes the glaring reality.

To this day, there persists outrage that any teaching of slavery would dare include elements suggesting that former slaves at one point would have been able to utilize learned skills while they had been indentured. This is said to "sanitize" the horrors of slavery and whitewash the

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Magic Johnson Becomes Co-Owner of the Washington Commanders

Last month, the sale of the Washington Commanders franchise (formerly known as the Washington Redskins) to a group headed by Josh Harris for a record $6.05 billion was officially–and unanimously– approved by NFL owners during a special session.

Among the 20 limited partners in the group is NBA Hall of Famer Magic Johnson, who expressed his excitement about the deal on Twitter.

"This is truly the biggest achievement in my business career and a historic moment for the entire Black community," Johnson wrote. "Talk about God's perfect timing. This was the right organization for me to be a part of given it's global appeal, his- tory of winning, and the diverse fanbase and DMV community. I have a special relationship with the DMV. Many people don't know I've done business in the Washington, DC area for many years.

"I was one of the owners of the Washington Hilton, I built multiple Starbucks franchises and Magic Johnson Theaters, and empowerment centers with the Magic Johnson Foundation. I also have my company SodexoMAGIC headquartered here. The DMV community has embraced and supported me, and I am honored and ecstatic to be a coowner of the Commanders franchise!"

Johnson is one of just four African Americans with ownership stakes in the NFL and the other three–former U.S.

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Ariel Investments CEO Mellody Hob son and Formula 1 star Lewis Ham ilton–are part of the group that took ownership of the Broncos last year.

Ironically enough, it is the second attempt for Johnson to have ownership in the NFL. The first was with the group that was outbid in their efforts to buy the Denver Broncos.

While vacationing in the Med itteranean last month, Johnson shared a photo of he and his family proudly sporting Washington Commander t-shirts.