Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis blasted MSNBC anchor Andrea Mitchell for falsely claiming that his state is prohibiting students from learning about slavery.
Mitchell asked Vice President Kamala Harris during a Friday interview why DeSantis did not want “slavery or the aftermath of slavery” to be taught in schools. Her questions related to the governor’s rejection of an advanced placement (AP) African American history course for containing elements of critical race theory (CRT) and and queer theory.
DeSantis said MSNBC and the liberal media are “lying” about Florida’s educational curriculum regarding black history and banning books with pornographic content.
“You just had on MSNBC, you had the reporter [Mitchell] saying that ‘Governor DeSantis does not want students to learn about slavery and its aftermath.’ Well, if you actually looked at what our standards are, not only is not prohibited to teach that, it’s required to teach that. It’s required to teach all of those things. It’s required under Florida statutes to teach about racial discrimination,” DeSantis said.
“In terms of issues involving American history, it’s very clear in Florida standards, that we are required to teach all aspects of black history, not queer theory, but actual aspects of black history,” he continued. “Including, MSNBC, slavery and its aftermath, including and required also, to teach about the discrimination. So that is in the law … they [corporate media] are lying to you.”
The governor said the corporate media is accusing his administration of banning teachings on racial discrimination to push a “narrative” and “agenda.” (RELATED: NYT Columist John McWhorter Says DeSantis ‘Did The Right Thing’ By Prohibiting AP African American History Course)
The anchor said during a Wednesday segment that she was “imprecise” in her previous claim and admitted that DeSantis is “not opposed” to teaching to teaching about slavery in classrooms. She accused the governor of barring readings and content that experts allegedly say make it “impossible” for students to learn the “broader historic and political context” of slavery.
DeSantis’ press secretary Bryan Griffin swore off NBC News and MSNBC from conducting any interviews with the governor until Mitchell “apologizes” for her false accusation.
“There will be no consideration of anything related to NBC Universal or its affiliates until and at least Andrea Mitchell corrects the blatant lie she made about the governor ([Governor DeSantis] says that slavery and the aftermath of slavery should not be taught to Florida schoolchildren’ — this is false), and NBC and its affiliates display a consistent track record of truthful reporting. Please feel free to pass this up and around the network.”
The syllabus of the prohibited course contained aspects of CRT in its lessons. CRT holds that America is fundamentally racist, yet teaches people to view every social interaction and person in terms of race. Its adherents pursue “antiracism” through ending meritocracy and objective truth, and adopting race-based policies.
Unit 4 of the course included a lesson on “Black Queer Studies” which focuses on “the concept of the queer of color critique, grounded in Black feminism and intersectionality, as a Black studies lens that shifts sexuality studies toward racial analysis.” A reading in the course, written by Eduardo Bonilla Silva, revolves around “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.”
DeSantis signed legislation requiring students to learn about the Ocoee Massacre, which is known as the “largest incident of voting-day violence in United States history.” The violence broke out when Mose Norman, an African American man, attempted to vote but was turned away from the polls.