Desantis’ race to the bottom
Even as Black History Month is about to begin, the war on teaching Black history has opened a new front in Florida. That state’s governor, the shamelessly ambitious Ron Desantis, has banned a proposed high school Advanced Placement course in African American studies.
As a Republican fixed on winning the White House, Desantis has been traveling the low road for a while — attacking Disney World, one of his state’s major economic generators, as “woke,” peddling misinformation about ANTI-COVID procedures and outlawing the teaching of critical race theory. He plans to out-trump the former president.
It’s difficult to label Desantis’ latest move as his most shameless, since he has stooped so low on so many occasions. Still, it’s worth noting that his administration hasn’t bothered to try to come up with a sturdy rationale for its decision. The state Department of Education issued a statement declaring that the course is “inexplicably contrary to Florida law.” Huh? Does that mean that these bureaucrats cannot logically explain their actions?
I’m not a fan of the annual celebration of Black History Month because I believe it minimizes the history it proposes to elevate. African American history is inextricably bound up with American history — there is not one without the other — so a separate month should not be necessary. Desantis has shown why it still is.
With his prominent support, Florida’s state Legislature became one of those taking up the cudgel against so-called critical race theory, which has become right-wing code to signal any left-leaning cultural or social premise that conservatives oppose. In 2021, right-wing activist Christopher Rufo tweeted: “The goal is to have the public read something crazy in the newspaper and immediately think ‘critical race theory.’” He has succeeded among a certain set of voters, even if many of them have no idea what CRT really is.
That didn’t stop Desantis and likeminded Republicans, such as Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin, from boarding the anticrt bus and racing off. In their zeal to fight the culture war, they have done immense damage to classroom instruction. In states with anti-crt laws, teachers report a chilling effect: Many are limiting or excluding discussion of race and gender.
While conservatives like to champion “parental choice,” students and their parents already have clear alternatives to AP classes. The courses are prestigious but
not required. Created by the College Board, AP courses are university-level studies meant for collegebound students. Some colleges give course credit to students who score well on AP exams, but, again, no student is required to take those classes either to graduate from high school or to enter college.
According to Christopher Tinson, one of the scholars who helped design the course, the African American studies class draws widely on Black experiences to portray the range of that history, both sorrowful and triumphant. Florida has its own distinct stories to tell, from Eatonville, where Zora Neale Hurston grew up, to the Rosewood Massacre.
Still, the Desantis administration has said that the African American studies course “lacks educational value” and instead “sought to teach progressive doctrines,” pointing to a leaked copy of the syllabus with readings on such subjects as Black queer studies, the Black Lives Matter movement and the
reparations movement. While legitimate areas for study, those subjects are also fuel for the culture wars.
As a college instructor, though, I can attest to the fact that “study” is not “indoctrination.” I assign my students readings from a wide ideological range, expecting them to be exposed to various points of view and to think critically about them. That’s the only way they learn which views can withstand probing discussion and pointed debate. That’s what a college education is all about.
Desantis’ decision has drawn sharp rebukes, including the threat of a lawsuit. Politicians and educators in other states have said they will not allow Florida to hijack the course, which is designed to be used in schools across the country. Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker wrote the College Board a letter urging its officials to ignore Desantis.
Still, the controversy itself is exactly what Desantis wanted. He doesn’t care what’s taught in classrooms. He simply wants to wage a culture war he believes will propel him into the White House.