Florida's fight over the teaching of Black history

1 big thing

Axios

News

4.0 • 2K Ratings

🗓️ 1 February 2023

⏱️ 10 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Florida last month rejected an Advanced Placement African American Studies Class for its schools. As Black History Month begins, we’re digging into this fight and Florida's own history. Plus, a new survey takes the pulse of educator anxiety. And, missing monkeys are just the latest in a series of strange events at the Dallas Zoo. Guests: Axios' Russell Contreras, Michael Mooney and Florida International University's Dr. Marvin Dunn. Credits: Axios Today is produced by Niala Boodhoo, Alexandra Botti, Naomi Shavin, Fonda Mwangi and Alex Sugiura. Music is composed by Evan Viola. You can reach us at podcasts@axios.com. You can text questions, comments and story ideas to Niala as a text or voice memo to 202-918-4893. Go Deeper: A Black professor defies DeSantis law restricting lessons on race Stop W.O.K.E Act (Florida) Black History Month here amid more teacher fears Missing monkeys latest in a string of strange events at Dallas Zoo Statement from Gov. Ron DeSantis' office to Axios Today: Here’s why the Stop WOKE Act (Bill name Individual Freedom Act) doesn’t prohibit speech or ideas from free exchange, but actually protects the open exchange of ideas: The concepts cannot be forced on employees as a condition of employment, etc. meaning there is no choice but for the employee to be subjected to these concepts. Though we greatly disagree with the concepts above, no employer, etc. is prohibited from holding voluntary workshops, seminars, or trainings on them. Nor is the employer prohibited from communicating these concepts to the public. The employer simply cannot subject employees to mandatory training on these concepts where the employer attempts to impose the concepts on the employee. The concepts are designed to force individuals to believe something. As we have seen so regularly in schools and workplaces tainted with DEI and CRT, these concepts are specifically designed and taught in a manner to convince people to adopt a certain proscribed ideology -- not to think critically about them (as they are certainly not presented with alternatives.) They are designed to influence an individual’s thoughts about themselves and society and delivered by individuals with authority or influence over others (employers over employees, teachers over students). That means this isn’t a peer-to-peer discussion or public discourse, but it is coming from someone with power over another and all of the associated leverages of their position. That said, the law does not prohibit training where the concepts are merely discussed, as opposed to espoused and inculcated. The law specifically provides that it “may not be construed to prohibit discussion of the concepts listed therein as part of a course of training or instruction, provided such training or instruction is given in an objective manner without endorsement of the concepts.” Finally, the law is designed to prohibit forced indoctrination in these concepts because doing so is discriminatory. This is racial harassment, which is likewise prohibited both by the Florida Civil Rights Act and Title VII. Consider a scenario wherein an employer cannot take adverse employment action against an employee because of his or her race but could inundate its employee with racially hostile indoctrination. If the former conduct is prohibited, the latter should be as well. Finally, keeping employees or students from being forced to think a certain way upon condition of employment and as directed by those with authority or influence over others (employers over employees, teachers over students) protects freedom of thought. And the concepts as specified in the bill in particular are discriminatory concepts that, if ultimately forcibly adopted by society, will inevitably invite the speech-hating collateral consequences of unbridled, hatred-fueled collectivism Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	Good morning. Welcome, Naxios today. It's Wednesday, the first day of February and of Black History Month. I'm Nyla Boudou.
0:10.0	Today on the show, Florida's fight over African-American history and why educators across the country are rethinking their approach to race.
0:19.0	Teaching Black History. That's our one big thing.
0:26.0	Florida last month rejected an advanced placement African-American studies class for its schools, a course that some high schools nationwide have been piloting.
0:34.0	Florida Governor Rhonda Santis says the course violates the quote stop woke act, which he signed into law late last year.
0:41.0	It aims to restrict how educators handle topics like racism, slavery, and the nation's history of anti-Black violence.
0:48.0	Educators and historians have come out against the law and drove, saying it infringes on their ability to do their jobs.
0:54.0	Part of the law has already been blocked by a judge and other lawsuits are in progress.
0:59.0	Marvin Dunne is a former college professor, public school principal, author and founder of Teach the Truth Tours, aimed at discussing what happens when we restrict how educators teach history.
1:09.0	He's also a plaintiff and one of the lawsuits over the new law. As Black History Month begins, we're digging into this fight and into the history of Florida in particular.
1:18.0	Professor Dunne, welcome to Axios today. Thanks for being with us.
1:22.0	Thank you for having me as an educator first. Can you give us some examples of what the stop woke act practically means for Florida teachers and how can actually change what's being allowed in the classroom.
1:34.0	You can talk about slavery, but you must discuss it objectively. I don't know how to objectively describe in a slave woman having a baby ripped from her bosom and sold into slavery.
1:47.0	I am a product of Miami-Dade County public schools. I didn't get a complete education about Florida's history. For example, I never learned about the Rosewood massacre where the town of Rosewood was burned to the ground and its black residents terrorized by deadly violence for days in the 1920s.
2:03.0	I learned about that as an adult. So you founded these Teach the Truth Tours, which take people all over Florida to learn about the history of specific sites. What motivated you to do that?
2:15.0	These tours are for high school students with a parent or a grandparent. All expenses paid by us and we go to places in Florida where the blood was shed. We go to places where people died at the hands of white mobs.
2:31.0	And it's important in my view to take the kids and the parents at grandparents because the stories get passed down at the Thanksgiving table around the Christmas tree. These are very, very difficult tours and they should be.
2:44.0	So we wanted to create an experience that they would never forget. And when you take someone to Rosewood and you walk that ground, you'll never forget that.
2:54.0	Is this meant to be an alternative to public education then in Florida?
2:59.0	This is an alternative to public education in Florida. I can't imagine particularly under this government school districts taking high school kids to places where these terrible things happen.
3:11.0	Right now in Florida, the movement is away from teaching the history. So away from taking people to these places.
3:18.0	So I fear that these stories will be lost. I fear that Rosewood will be lost. There's only one building standing in Rosewood today, the JW Wright House, the white man's home who protected some of the blacks at that time. That house is in danger.
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Axios, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of Axios and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.