Bill Proctor, an African American Democrat who holds the position of Leon County Commissioner, has chosen to stand alongside Florida Governor Ron DeSantis in the ongoing debate about the governor’s choice to put the kibosh on an extremely woke AP African American Studies course which was slated to be taught in the state schools after its development by College Board was finished.
“I think it’s trash,” exclaimed Proctor when speaking about the course. “There is grave concern about the tone and the tenor of leadership’s voice from the highest spaces in our state being hostile to teaching of African American history.”
“Well frankly I’m against the College Board’s curriculum. I think it’s trash. It’s not African American history. It is ideology,” Proctor went on. “I’ve taught African American history, I’ve structured syllabuses for African American history. I am African American history. And talking about ‘queer’ and ‘feminism’ and all of that for the struggle for freedom and equality and justice has not been no tension with queerness and feminist thought at all.”
Recently, the Florida Department of Education informed the group that the content of the course is “inexplicably contrary to Florida law and significantly lacks educational value,” adding that the state would think about reconsidering the course should the group alter the material to be “lawful” and “historically accurate.” This course, which is still being worked on in its pilot stages at over five dozen high schools across the nation, is centered on the idea of left-wing activism instead of the actual study of black history.
Governor Ron DeSantis, who officially signed the legislation last year which would prevent the state’s government-funded and run schools from being able to teach discrimination on the idea of race, sex, or color, detailed a vast number of his issues that go along with the course as part of a press conference.
“They’re advocating things like abolishing prisons,” explained Governor DeSantis. “Now that’s a radical political position. … It’s not fair to say that somehow abolishing prisons is linked to black experiences, that that’s what black people want. I think they want law and order, just like anybody else wants law and order. So that is more ideology being used under the guise of history, and we want to do history.”
