On February 23, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis denounced the “media lies” about the Sunshine State’s decision to abolish the Advanced Placement (AP) course in African American Studies. DeSantis stated that the media attempted to manufacture a narrative in Florida.
It is essentially a “book-ban hoax.” NBC and its affiliates are perpetrating a deception. And they’re attempting to argue that, since Florida has parental rights and curriculum transparency, a parent will complain if a 10-year-old can obtain a library book containing explicit pornography. The book does not meet Florida’s curriculum requirements and has no place in the library with those young children. DeSantis stated that he believes 99 percent of parents will concur with him.
DeSantis stated that Florida law mandates teaching African American history in a truthful, non-political manner. The governor accused critics of removing books from bookcases to construct a narrative to muddy the waters around the AP course restriction. He cited one school’s removal of a book about MLB Hall of Famer Hank Aaron because it discusses his racial prejudice. DeSantis stated that they are attempting to construct a story by doing so. They are not doing so because Florida has a law like that. They know it’s against the law, but they do it because enough individuals in corporate media will take it at face value and run with it, DeSantis said.
This month, DeSantis prohibited teaching an Advanced Placement course that he deemed politically biased and pushing an agenda on students. The course contains far-left topics such as queer studies, Black liberation theology, the fight to abolish prisons, Black Lives Matter, and reparations. Since DeSantis has banned the course, the College Board has altered the curriculum.
Left-leaning media have criticized the DeSantis administration for prohibiting the AP course. Andrea Mitchell of MSNBC falsely said that slavery and its effects shouldn’t be taught in Florida schools, according to DeSantis. Her suggestion has already been retracted after she took another shot at DeSantis while appearing to defend her thesis.
Jason Johnson, a contributor for MSNBC, also contributed to the false media narrative, claiming that DeSantis is “happy” with routine murders of Black people.
The NAACP Legal Defense Fund’s president and director, Janai Nelson, told the New York Times that DeSantis’ actions constitute a constant assault on truth and freedom of expression by passing laws that censor and suppress historically marginalized groups, particularly Blacks and LGBTQs. Communities.
Last year, DeSantis signed two education-related laws that mostly sparked criticism on the left. The Florida Parental Rights in Education Act bans educating K-3 pupils about sexual orientation and gender ideology.
The Stop WOKE Act codified Florida’s ban on teaching critical race theory to K-12 students, including the notion that their race determines their moral character, color, national origin, or gender.
DeSantis, meanwhile, refuses to speak with NBC and its affiliates unless Andrea Mitchell corrects her “blatant lies.” DeSantis’ office stated on social media that it will not accept interview requests from NBC or MSNBC until Andrea Mitchell corrects her “blatant lies.”
On February 20, Mitchell forgot to provide a correction. On the 22, she issued a statement saying Governor DeSantis supports teaching slavery in schools. However, he has opposed the teaching of an African American Studies curriculum and the use of some authors and sources that historians and teachers claim to make it nearly impossible for students to learn about slavery objectively.
Mitchell did not name the “historians and educators” she referred to. She also failed to mention that Florida law mandates teaching African-American history, including slavery. Bryan Griffin, the press secretary for DeSantis, reacted through Twitter on February 22, saying: This will be the standard answer from our office until @mitchellreports apologizes and your track record improves; Griffin responded with a screenshot of a written response.
Griffin’s response stated that they needed to take a step back, that DeSantis would forgo interviews, appearances, or anything else relating to NBC Universal or its affiliates unless Andrea Mitchell corrected the apparent falsehood she told about the governor, and when NBC and its affiliates started to have a consistent history of telling the truth. Griffen also added that they were free to circulate this within the network.