Florida

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• SOURCE: Made By History at the Washington Post
  3/30/2023
  

  DeSantis's War on "Woke" Evokes Darkest Parts of Florida's History

  by Carol Anderson

  Calling DeSantis's agenda a "culture war" obscures the fact that is in fact a war against the marginalized, an effort to narrow the definition of who counts as a Floridian and whom the state will serve and protect, with the right to vote at the center. 

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• SOURCE: Washington Post
  3/25/2023
  

  Florida Legislation Recalls the Tragic History behind Fights for Sex Education

  Legislation that would bar discussion of menstruation in Florida schools will likely put girls at risk of emotional distress when their periods begin. Historians stress that women have always sought this information despite stigmas against providing it. 

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• SOURCE: Slate
  3/23/2023
  

  Chair of Florida Charter School Board on Firing of Principal: About Policy, Not David Statue

  Although the nudity of Michelangelo's David might not be the root cause of a principal's firing, the board of the Hillsdale College-affiliated charter school at the center of the controversy has interesting views about the educational enterprise. 

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• SOURCE: Associated Press
  3/22/2023
  

  DeSantis Moves to Expand "Don't Say Gay" Law Coverage to all Grades

  The move would exempt lessons in state-mandated health instruction, but such courses would require allowing parents to opt out of them. The change could be implemented by the state board of education without legislative approval. 

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• SOURCE: Washington Post
  3/20/2023
  

  Excerpts from a Civics Textbook I Assume Would be Welcome in Florida

  by Alexandra Petri

  "American history is full of many heroes, whose accomplishments we will have no problem telling you about in the state of Florida! They fought for justice, which was brave of them, if a little redundant, because there was no specific injustice to fight against."

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• SOURCE: Education Week
  3/16/2023
  

  Confusion Over Book Bans in Florida is a Feature, Not a Bug, of New Policies

  The state education commissioner of Florida, Manny Diaz, has insisted that the state is not banning books. Civil liberties and library groups say that vague laws and public threats of prosecution are pushing educators to remove books without technically being forced to do so, which is the point. 

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• SOURCE: NPR
  3/18/2023
  

  Florida Professor: I was Fired for Teaching about Racism

  Although Palm Beach Atlantic University is a private and Christian institution, English instructor Sam Joeckel says that a parent's complaint to the administration that led to his firing goes hand in hand with the efforts of Ron DeSantis to attack higher education in Florida to advance his "anti-woke" crusade. 

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• SOURCE: Miami Herald
  3/19/2023
  

  Florida Universities on Defensive as State Attacks Diversity Initiatives

  Interviews with Miami Herald reporters show the behind-the-scenes work university faculty and staff are weighing how much compliance will be required with new state laws. The DeSantis administration may achieve more performative than substantive results, but uncertainty and anxiety are common on campus. 

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• 3/19/2023
  

  Censoring History Education Goes Hand in Hand with Democratic Backsliding

  by Julia Boechat Machado and Ruben Zeeman

  Regimes in the Philippines, India and Brazil have recently tried to censor the teaching of history in service of their poltical goals and claims to power. The pushback by scholars in these countries should inspire historians in Florida and elsewhere to resist the political censorship of research and teaching. 

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• SOURCE: Tampa Bay Times
  3/9/2023
  

  Governor, Florida's Faculty are Doing Their Jobs. Let Them Continue

  by Elizabeth Strom

  Florida's higher education reform agenda imagines professors to are engaged in indoctrination, but will prevent them from doing their best research and teaching. 

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• SOURCE: New York Times
  3/16/2023
  

  How Textbook Publishers are Censoring the Story of Rosa Parks to Sell Books in Florida

  The conservative Florida Citizens Alliance, a group allied with the DeSantis administration, has called for rejection of 28 of the 38 texts its members reviewed. One publisher's editing of the story of the Montgomery Boycott illustrates their power. 

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• SOURCE: The New Yorker
  3/10/2023
  

  What are the Evils and Dangers Targeted by Book Bans?

  A study of the books flagged for restriction in Duval County, Florida in the last two years suggests that a particular political vision is driving the bans, focusing on LGBTQ themes and racial and religious diversity. But a fear of adolescents' developing autonomy also seems to be in play. 

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• SOURCE: New York Times
  3/8/2023
  

  Edsall: Florida's Education Legislation Threatens Academic Freedom. Opinions Differ Whether That's Good

  by Thomas Edsall

  Columnist Thomas Edsall checked in with historian Amna Akbar, a DEI critic, about Florida's education legislation. Akbar isn't a fan, though may conservative think-tank fellows interviewed are. 

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• SOURCE: New York Times
  3/8/2023
  

  DeSantis Wants Us to Ignore What Black Children in Florida Need

  Historian Marvin Dunn's "Teach the Truth" tours show that Florida's history can't be taught without acknowledging white racism and terrorism. 

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• SOURCE: The Guardian
  3/8/2023
  

  Scholars and Activists Join Open Letter Condemning Political Intrusions on Scholarship and Teaching

  An open letter by Black Studies scholars and activists asks why a right-wing political faction has been empowered to hijack the curriculum in Florida and at the College Board, concluding that, far from being "drained of meaning," purged concepts are threatening to entrenched power. 

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• SOURCE: Washington Post
  3/8/2023
  

  In Florida, the Question is WHOSE Parental Rights

  Although right-leaning "parental rights" groups have been prominent advocates for state legislation affecting how schools handle race and gender issues, it's clear that those groups don't represent all parents in the state. 

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• SOURCE: Chronicle of Higher Education
  3/3/2023
  

  Florida Faculty Concerned by Potential Ban on Majors

  U of Florida history department chair Jon Sensbach "said the legislation would take state control of higher education to a new level in American history."

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• SOURCE: Tampa
  3/4/2023
  

  New College Prof: What We Lose by Rejecting Competence and Expertise

  by Aaron Hillegas

  Courting Trump's base by copying his message that "stewardship is for suckers," a New College professor warns that DeSantis has appointed "chuckleheads" to run the college, something that won't end well for anyone. 

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• SOURCE: The Forum
  3/6/2023
  

  Fear and Loathing in Florida

  by Samuel Hoadley-Brill

  "Much like 'voter fraud,' the term 'critical race theory' can mean whatever DeSantis needs it to mean to justify his anti-democratic agenda."

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• SOURCE: Black Perspectives
  2/27/2023
  

  Black History, White Terror, and Rosewood at 100

  by Dan Royles

  The efforts of historians and survivors to achieve a small measure of justice and acknowledgment for the Rosewood massacre demonstrate the stakes of Florida's current efforts to restrict the teaching of history that challenges white supremacy.