DeSantis: New law wasn’t to ax Aaron & Clemente books
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis Tuesday dismissed concerns that a new Republican law forced a school library to ban a book about Puerto Rican baseball star Roberto Clemente’s battles with racism.
The potential Republican 2024 presidential candidate claimed that unnamed opponents are yanking harmless books from library shelves to embarrass him or undermine the new law, which targets so-called critical race theory.
“That’s politics, though. To be honest with you,” DeSantis said. “Roberto Clemente? I mean, seriously. That’s politics. I think the school unions are involved with this.”
DeSantis suggested the Roberto Clemente biography and another book about outspoken Black home run king Hank Aaron should never have been flagged for review, or should have been quickly approved.
Both books are now back on shelves but only after a lengthy review.
Florida school officials say the Republican-backed “Stop WOKE” Act orders them to restrict access books or other materials that discuss racism or privileges whites enjoy based on their race.
In Duval County, which includes Jacksonville, school officials say the law requires them to review all 1.6 million titles on school library shelves.
“As required by state law, we are in the process of having certified media specialists review all classroom library books,” Tracy Pierce, a spokeswoman for Duval County Public Schools, told ABC News.
Despite DeSantis’s shrugging off concern over the bans, his state Department of Education is warning schools to “err on the side of caution” in deciding whether to allow students access to books that could violate the law, school officials say.
A report by the anti-censorship group PEN America says books about Celia Cruz, the late queen of salsa, and Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor were also pulled from school shelves because they described their struggles against racism.
DeSantis has been an ardent proponent of fighting right-wing culture wars in Florida schools and other institutions, asserting that the Sunshine State is where “woke cancel culture goes to die.”
He pushed the Don’t Say Gay law and recently banned schools in the state from teaching an Advanced Placement African-American History course, claiming it isn’t up to educational standards.