Republican presidential candidate and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis invited Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris to Florida on Monday to discuss the teaching of African American history in his state’s education curriculum, according to a letter obtained by the Daily Caller News Foundation.
Harris previously criticized the African American History standards adopted by the Florida Department of Education (DOE) in July, claiming that the curriculum teaches that slaves were beneficiaries of slavery, though no such curriculum exists or has ever been proposed in the state. DeSantis suggested in a letter that Harris come down for an “open and honest dialogue” about the curriculum, and meet with Dr. William Allen, an academic who led the creation of the standards. (RELATED: Black Member Of FL Curriculum Board Rips VP Harris’ Slavery Claims As ‘Categorically False’)
“In Florida we are unafraid to have an open and honest dialogue about the issues,” DeSantis wrote in a letter to Harris. “And you clearly have no trouble ducking down to Florida on short notice. So given your grave concern (which, I must assume, is sincere) about what you think our standards say, I am officially inviting you back down to Florida to discuss our African American History standards.”
“We will be happy to host you here in Tallahassee. I will ask Dr. William Allen – instrumental in the development of our impressive new standards – to join. We welcome you, of course, to bring Randi Weingarten or someone else who shares your views about the standards.”
The Advanced Placement (AP) African American course has similarities to the new K-12 standards adopted by Florida, teaching that slaves “learned specialized trades and worked as painters, carpenters, tailors, musicians, and healers” and “used these skills to provide for themselves and others.”
Despite the backlash from Harris and several U.S. politicians, the Florida DOE announced in July that it would move forward with the African American history standards and implement the curriculum in its state classrooms.
US Vice President Kamala Harris, with US President Joe Biden (L), speaks at a signing ceremony in the Indian Treaty Room of the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, next to the White House in Washington, DC on July 25, 2023. (Photo by MANDEL NGAN/AFP via Getty Images)
Florida’s African American History standards teach about the injustices slaves suffered throughout the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries. The curriculum names and teaches about several African American heroes throughout American history and “the service and sacrifice of African patriots during the Revolutionary Era.”
The Florida DOE noted in July that the standards include several historical accounts of African Americans, slaves and their immediate descendants.
“Over the past several weeks, the Biden administration has repeatedly disparaged our state and misinformed Americans about our education system,” DeSantis wrote in a letter to Harris. “Our state pushed forward nation-leading standalone African American History standards – one of the only states in the nation to require this level of learning about such an important subject. One would think the White House would applaud such boldness in teaching the unique and important story of African American History.”
The White House did not immediately respond to the DCNF’s request for comment.
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