GOP presidential candidate Ron DeSantis has invited Vice President Kamala “Word Salad” Harris to Florida to discuss the state’s African American curriculum.
Harris visited Jacksonville last week, where she gave a speech about the curriculum, where she labeled Florida’s African American curriculum as “propaganda” and later inquired how the state government could say that there were benefits to the “dehumanization” that African Americans faced during the 1800s.
“They dare to push propaganda to our children,” she said. “This is the United States of America. We’re not supposed to do that.”
“How is it that anyone could suggest that in the midst of these atrocities, that there was any benefit to being subjected to this level of dehumanization?” Harris asked.
Dr. William Allen, who co-authored the curriculum, put Harris on blast for her false remarks.
“The only criticism I’ve encountered so far [on the new curriculum] is a single one that was articulated by the vice president, and which was an error,” Allen told ABC News.
“As I stated in my response to the vice president, it was categorically false. It was never said that slavery was beneficial to Africans,” he added.
Yesterday, @abcnews aired a very small section of their interview with a member of Florida’s African American History Standards Workgroup, Dr. William B. Allen.
Here’s more of the interview, where Dr. Allen debunks @VP’s narrative and calls her criticism “categorically false.”🧵 pic.twitter.com/hPFbKNZPs1
— Jeremy Redfern (@JeremyRedfernFL) July 23, 2023
Later, DeSantis joined the “response team,” delivering a scathing rebuke of Harris’ speech and her lies throughout.
“We are committed to teaching truth, not partisan narratives,” DeSantis wrote in a letter Monday, promoting the school choice program. “We have rooted out hateful Marxist theories like ‘Critical Race Theory’ from our classrooms. We have eliminated ‘Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion’ initiatives in school administration and hiring practices. We have, instead, focused on the basics of reading, writing, arithmetic, science, civics, and history.”
DeSantis said that politicians in Washington, D.C., “choose to malign our state and its residents,” adding that the Biden administration “has repeatedly disparaged our state and misinformed Americans about our education system.”
“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,” the governor wrote. “One would think the White House would applaud such boldness in teaching the unique and important story of African American History. But you have instead attempted to score cheap political points and label Florida parents ‘extremists.’ It’s past time to set the record straight.”
“In Florida, we are unafraid to have an open and honest dialogue about the issues,” DeSantis wrote. “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.”
DeSantis’ letter states that the state would host Harris in Tallahassee. Perhaps DeSantis could set up a debate against the vice president over the curriculum. It’d be a “fight” between Pee-wee Herman and Mike Tyson but nonetheless plenty of fun.
“What an example we could set for the nation — a serious conversation on the substance of an important issue! I hope you’re feeling up to it,” DeSantis concluded.
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