Corporate media rushed to claim that Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis banned black history after his administration did not approve a pilot course on African American studies.
The study of black history is required in Florida schools, and the College Board has since released an updated framework for their course following feedback from the Florida Board of Education. The AP course has been updated as of Wednesday to remove readings from critical race theorists, as well as a section on “black queer studies.”
Headlining of the story in liberal media outlets generally framed the story as an outright ban on the course. NPR’s wrote that, “DeSantis faces criticism for Florida’s ban on African American studies AP course.” (RELATED: Politico Writer Bemoans That Florida Students Won’t Learn ‘How To Parse Maps Of The Songhai Empire’ Under DeSantis)
“DeSantis Defends Banning AP African American Studies Course From Florida High Schools,” according to Best Colleges.
“Ron DeSantis wants to erase black history,” a New York Times opinion column headlined.
“Polls reveal the real reason Ron DeSantis is fighting the teaching of Black history,” MSNBC wrote.
DeSantis’s decision to reject the original course for study in Florida schools came after he signed a law in April which barred schools from teaching that, “a person, by virtue of his or her race, color, national origin, or sex is inherently racist, sexist, or oppressive, whether consciously or unconsciously.” The law targeted critical race theory, an ideology that holds that America is fundamentally racist, and that every power structure and every interaction can be viewed through the lens of race, in particular as an oppressor class (whites) pitted against an oppressed class (blacks)
🚨 BREAKING: The College Board has released an updated framework for an African American studies course after the DeSantis administration rejected a previous version for its teaching on “queer theory” and critical race theory. @DailyCaller https://t.co/XcxtvgGgww
— Sarah Weaver 💍 (@SarahHopeWeaver) February 1, 2023
Talking heads were even more severe in their condemnation of the Florida Board of Education’s decision, accusing DeSantis of racism.
“Ron DeSantis is now running a state where he decides what can be taught in schools or not. So the off-ramp is like — I’m not sure it’s an off-ramp … You’ve got a lot of racism going on and a little bit of insanity,” “The View” co-host Whoopi Goldberg said.
MSNBC anchor Joy Reid said DeSantis was blocking the course in its original form to “appease those who look more like, well, Ron DeSantis.”
Reid also said that conservatives like DeSantis don’t want kids to learn “this country’s actual history.”
Conservative writer Andrew Sullivan blasted the media’s coverage of the story on social media Wednesday.
“If you read the NYT, WaPo, CNN or NBC, you’ll think that DeSantis has banned the teaching of African-American history in Florida. Their intent is to mislead you.”