DeSantis and the MAGA paradigm posits to rational, thinking, intelligent individuals that when the slave traders, for purposes of greed, went to the African continent, Africans were found helplessly ignorant, desperate and languishing in despair and hopelessness, waiting to be rescued and saved.
BY GOLIATH J. DAVIS, III, Ph.D., Contributor
MAGA Republicans have weaponized deliberate outrageous lying. They employ it shamelessly and without reservation. Regrettably, its obvious intent is to divide our nation on the one hand and destroy what most of us have come to know as democratic principles, practices, and institutions on the other.
Florida’s governor and its MAGA lawmakers have embarked on a course to make Florida the most divisive state in America by stoking racism, sexism, homophobia and any other culture war they believe will secure their power. In 2020, DeSantis signed into law a piece of legislation known as the “Stop WOKE Act,” which, among other things, prohibits educational instruction that could make students feel uncomfortable due to their race, sex or national origin.
But make no mistake about it; white students are the intended protected group. Many of their historical ancestral portrayals have made Black students uncomfortable for years.
Gov. DeSantis and his followers are history deniers. Their goal is to distort, deny, and lie to deemphasize the violence and inhumanity suffered by the indigenous populations, Black people and other people of color. DeSantis is so proud of his divisive policies and practices and has made them the centerpiece of his presidential campaign.
The State of Florida recently released its newly revised educational standards. The history standards have stirred debate and criticism nationwide. The freshly promulgated standards attempt to sanitize historical atrocities and distort the realities of The Tulsa Race Massacre, Florida’s Ocoee Massacre of 1920 and the Rosewood Massacre that resulted in reparations and legislation in 1994 mandating Black history is taught in Florida.
The only people that benefited from slavery were the slaveholders.
The newly revised Florida standards will require students to be taught that enslavement allowed Black people to develop skills that could be utilized for their benefit. Among cited skills include blacksmithing, shoemaking, and fishing.
DeSantis and the MAGA paradigm posits to rational, thinking, intelligent individuals that when the slave traders, for purposes of greed, went to the African continent, Africans were found helplessly ignorant, desperate and languishing in despair and hopelessness, waiting to be rescued and saved. So, they packed them in the bowels of slave ships, sold them for profit and became the beneficiaries of their hard work and brilliance.
Thankfully, rational, thinking, open-minded Americans know better. For example, those familiar with the Lowcountry in South Carolina know the enslaved taught their masters how to grow rice. Those in bondage taught their enslavers how to make brick from clay.
And let us not forget both enterprises garnered great wealth and profit for the enslavers and nothing but longer hours and tedious work for the enslaved. By the way, the abducted Africans brought their skills and knowledge to the Americas. Their enslavers capitalized on both and subjected them to unimaginable violence and indignity in return.
As much as some attempt to avoid the truth, we must remember, Black and indigenous history is American History with all of its warts and blemishes. Yet, it is also replete with grandeur and pride. We must embrace it all if we are to flourish and move forward responsibly.
The issues we are facing are not Black or white problems; we have an American problem, and we must resist all of the present efforts to divide us. We need good-hearted people to do the right thing. We need to hear from COQEB, the NAACP, IMA and the Urban League.
As for the Pinellas County School District, I have grown weary of hearing our superintendent repeatedly say, “We are going to follow the law.” By no means am I advocating lawlessness, but I am suggesting he provide more leadership to the administration and the board.
As I said earlier in the year, I understand the position the governor consistently puts them in; but they all signed up for the jobs. Voicing objections to the laws and working for acceptable change does not constitute a violation of the law.
The law recognizes behaviors that are mala in se (crimes such as murder, rape, and theft) and mala prohibita (actions that are illegal simply because laws forbid them). Some may disagree, but I view the governor’s Stop WOKE Act and the recent changes to standards that distort history and reality as immoral and, therefore, mala in se.
Slavery was once lawful; discrimination was once legal, but I am so thankful people of good conscience — men and women, Black and white, Christian and Jew — dared to stand and fight for what was right and what was moral, resulting in their elimination.
The school district continues to assert that it values cultural competency and transparency. The current laws dealing with book bans, distorted history teachings and Stop WOKE are inconsistent with cultural competence, equity, or inclusion. Men and women of conscience who have sought and ascended to leadership positions MUST speak out!
Make no mistake, MAGA politicians are keenly aware of the demographic shifts in the country and the threats to their hold on power. They will do any and everything to divide us for their purposes.
The salient question today is: “Where do you stand?” When history is written, the salient question will be: “Where were you on the issues?” Hopefully, history will find you on the right side.
