TALLAHASSEE, FLORIDA — Governor Ron DeSantis and the Florida Department of Education (FDOE) once again made national headlines on Wednesday after the state rejected an Advanced Placement (AP) African American Studies course. The Florida Standard obtained a copy of the course syllabus and reviewed the proposed material. Topics include “Black Queer Studies” and “Postracial Racism and Colorblindness.”
On January 12, the FDOE’s Office of Articulation sent a letter notifying the College Board that the state was rejecting its request for state approval of the course. The letter stated that “as presented, the content of this course is inexplicably contrary to Florida law and significantly lacks educational value.” At the same time, the letter notes that “in the future, should College Board be willing to come back to the table with lawful, historically accurate content, FDOE will always be willing to reopen the discussion.”
CRITICAL RACE THEORY
Section 4 of the syllabus introduces the topic “Postracial Racism and Colorblindness” and features texts from Eduardo Bonilla-Silva, who employs Critical Race Theory in his writings.
Eduardo Bonilla-Silva’s book Racism without Racists describes how “Whites talk, think, and account for the existence of racial inequality and makes clear that color-blind racism is as insidious now as ever.” The book’s second chapter, entitled “What is Systemic Racism? Coming to Terms with How Racism Shapes ‘All’ Whites (and Non-Whites)” explains how “all members of society participate in structural racism,” according to an online summary.
Section 4 also includes “Black Queer Studies.” A description states: “This topic explores the concept of queer color critique, grounded in Black feminism and intersectionality, as a Black studies lens that shifts sexuality studies towards racial analysis.”
FLORIDA LAW
In April 2022, Governor Ron DeSantis signed a law known as the “Stop W.O.K.E. Act.” The acronym stands for “Wrong to our Kids and Employees.” The bill was also known as the Individual Freedom Act (IFA). The law prohibits teaching or instruction that “espouses, promotes, advances, inculcates, or compels” students or employees to believe any of the following eight concepts.
Prohibited teachings include:
- Members of one race, color, national origin, or sex are morally superior to members of another race, color, national origin, or sex.
- A person by virtue of his or her race, color, national origin, or sex is inherently racist, sexist, or oppressive, whether consciously or unconsciously.
- A person’s moral character or status as either privileged or oppressed is necessarily determined by his or her race, color, national origin, or sex.
- Members of one race, color, national origin, or sex cannot and should not attempt to treat others without respect to race, color, national origin, or sex.
- A person, by virtue of his or her race, color, national origin, or sex bears responsibility for, or should be discriminated against or receive adverse treatment because of actions committed in the past by other members of the same race, color, national origin, or sex.
- A person, by virtue of his or her race, color, national origin, or sex should be discriminated against or received adverse treatment to achieve diversity, equity, or inclusion.
- A person, by virtue of his or her race, color, sex, or national origin, bears personal responsibility for and must feel guilt, anguish or other forms of psychological distress because of actions, in which the person played no part, committed in the past by other members of the same race, color, national origin, or sex.
- Such virtues as merit, excellence, hard work, fairness, neutrality, objectivity, and racial colorblindedness are racist or sexist, or were created by members of a particular race, color, national origin, or sex to oppress members of another race, color, national origin, or sex.
View the full syllabus below:
