The Florida chapter of the NAACP voted unanimously to ask the group’s national board to issue an advisory telling Black people not to travel to the state due to Gov. Ron DeSantis’ “anti-black” policies.
“We’re just not going to take it anymore, we’ve been taking it long enough,” Isaiah Rumlin, president of the NAACP’s branch in Jacksonville said, according to USA Today.
The move comes as DeSantis and Republicans in Florida have led a concerted effort to restrict how race is taught in the state’s public schools. Earlier this year, the Florida Department of Education rejected an Advanced Placement course on African American studies because it “significantly lacks educational value.” The department also rejected math textbooks due to “impermissible” content, including lessons on critical race theory.
One textbook publisher in Florida took the drastic step of removing any mention of race from Rosa Park’s story in an effort to get their books approved by a committee reviewing the state’s social studies curriculum. The publisher cited the ‘Stop WOKE’ act signed into law by DeSantis which bans the teaching of certain topics that compel students to feel guilt or shame about their race because of historical events.
“The governor is very insensitive as it relates to issues facing people of color in the state of Florida,” Rumlin said. “Somebody’s going to have to stand up against the governor and his policies and make him do the right thing, and one of the ways we are going to do it is in the form of a travel advisory, advising people not to visit the state, which will have a vast impact on the economy of the state of Florida.”
At a press conference on Thursday, DeSantis dismissed the NAACP’s action as a “joke” and a “stunt.”
“This is the reason why our country goes through all of these…we get involved in all of these stupid fights. This is a stunt to try to do that,” DeSantis said. “It’s a pure stunt. And fine, if you want to waste your time on a stunt, that’s fine. But I’m not wasting my time on your stunts. I’m going to make sure that we’re getting things done here.”
