Florida educators have taken on Governor Ron DeSantis’ attempt to monetize state universities’ spending for data on “diversity, equity and inclusion, and critical race theory programs.” The college professors went to a federal judge to halt DeSantis’ latest attempt at blocking diversity and free speech.
These educators have managed to freeze Florida’s Stop the Woke Act, which was little more than systemic racism, according to WPTV:
‘[The act] restricts certain race-based conversations and analysis in colleges. Tallahassee U.S. District Judge Mark Walke though DeSantis’ office is appealing the decision.’
In December, DeSantis asked the state-run universities to provide his office with the data by Friday. Instead, the professors went to court to fight the race-based information.
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and Legal Defense Fund said in court that the governor’s request “violates the court order blocking the ‘Stop WOKE Act.'” Staff attorney of the ACLU of Florida, Jerry Edwards released a statement that read:
‘This is just another step towards enforcing this unconstitutional law and is clearly intended to continue to chill the speech of instructors and students in Florida. We cannot allow these threats against free speech to continue.’
The law keeps education or business best practices from one ethnic population from manifest racism and the resulting feeling of guilt associated with the historical crimes against the ethnic group. DeSantis and the Republican-dominated state legislature passed this law in 2022. And n addition, this new law holds:
‘[A] person’s status as privileged or oppressed is necessarily determined by their race or gender, or that discrimination is acceptable to achieve diversity.’
During the 1970s and 1879s, the critical race theory was designed to compensate for:
‘[A] lack of racial progress following the civil rights legislation of the 1960s. It centers on the idea that racism is systemic in the nation’s institutions and that they function to maintain the dominance of white people in society.’
American conservative groups have rejected critical race theory out of hand, because it failed to create a separation between racial groups. These conservatives also stated that it caused White people to believe they are at their roots racist against other Americans of color.
ABC News reported that Governor DeSantis said when he signed the bill:
‘No one should be instructed to feel as if they are not equal or shamed because of their race. In Florida, we will not let the far-left woke agenda take over our schools and workplaces. There is no place for indoctrination or discrimination in Florida.”shame.”‘
Conservatives had been claiming that the Critical Race Theory was taught in grade school and high school. However, that was a false claim.
Watch this space for further activity regarding the battle between DeSantis and educators.
Gloria Christie is a political journalist for the liberal online newspaper The Bipartisan Report. Find her here on Facebook. Or at Three White Lions her book written in her own unique style with a twist of humor on Amazon Kindle Vella and the Gloria Christie Three White Lions podcast on Apple, Spotify, Amazon Music, etc. Christie’s Mueller Report Adventures In Bite-Sizes a real-life compelling spy mystery (in progress).