OP-ED: We’re Not Talking Enough About Florida’s War on Opportunity

By Kyandra Darling

On Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Florida’s attorney general issued a legal opinion aimed at dismantling long-standing affirmative action and diversity programs across our state. The symbolism was impossible to ignore, and so were the consequences.

This was not a routine legal interpretation. It was a deliberate political act that threatens to undo decades of progress meant to ensure fair access to jobs, contracts, and opportunity for communities that have historically been excluded from them.

In a 14-page opinion, Attorney General James Uthmeier labeled more than 80 state laws and programs as “presumptively unconstitutional” under the U.S. and Florida Constitutions. His office stated it will no longer enforce or defend those laws—effectively stripping protections that help expand access to contracting opportunities, minority scholarships, minority physician recruitment programs, and offices like the Minority Business Enterprise Office and the Minority Health Office.

This assault on equitable policymaking didn’t start on a sacred holiday. It is part of a broader political project that has already defunded diversity offices, banned certain DEI programs, and restricted how institutions can consider race and gender in pursuit of inclusion.

I want to commend the Florida Caucus of Black State Legislators for calling this out clearly and forcefully. Their response reflects the kind of moral clarity this moment demands. When power is used to erase hard-won gains, silence is not an option. Leadership is.

Affirmative action did not emerge out of ideology. It emerged out of reality. It exists because discrimination did not end with the passage of civil rights laws. It exists because access to opportunity has never been evenly distributed, and pretending otherwise does not negate the facts.

Programs that promote inclusionare not about giving anyone an unfair advantage. They are about acknowledging unequal starting points and working toward fairness in practice, not just in theory.
What we are witnessing now should be called exactly what it is: a war on opportunity.

Unfortunately, our elected Republican leaders choose to engage in culture-war politics, perhaps, to energize parts of their base who want to see vulnerable communities, including Black communities, immigrants, LGBTQ+ Floridians, and women targeted.

But here’s what matters: the people of Florida are struggling. Housing costs are out of control. Insurance is unaffordable. Schools are underfunded. Instead of governing to solve these problems, some leaders choose division because it is politically convenient.

That choice is intentional.

When politicians frame equity as a threat, they are not defending the Constitution. They are avoiding accountability for their failure to address the challenges working families actually care about. When they attack diversity efforts, they are not protecting fairness. They are narrowing opportunity while encouraging people to turn on one another.

This is why the role of the Legislature is so critical in this moment. Florida lawmakers must act as a co-equal branch of government, not as bystanders. They must defend laws that expand access and opportunity rather than allow executive overreach to silence them. They must make clear that progress in this state will not be rolled back quietly or without resistance.

Voters have a role too.

In 2026, Floridians who believe in justice and opportunity must do more than shake our heads at the latest outrage. We must get involved in campaigns that reflect our values. We must talk to our families, friends, and neighbors about what is at stake and why these attacks matter.

We must call our state legislators. Voters should ask whether their representatives will support bills that strip protections and roll back opportunity in Florida, and make clear that they do not support these harmful changes.

And ultimately, we must vote out leaders who refuse to stand up for fairness, inclusion, and equal opportunity.

Progress has never been automatic. It has always required people who are willing to show up, speak out, and act with purpose.

If we do not confront this war on opportunity now, we risk allowing culture wars to define Florida’s future. But if legislators lead with courage and voters match that leadership with action, we can protect the promise of opportunity and keep our state moving forward.

Now is the time to do both.

Kyandra Darling for Florida House District 62