As HB7, also known as Florida’s “Stop WOKE Act,” gets closer to becoming the law of the land, the lies about the proposal have begun cropping up again. The bill has been passed by the Senate and is now headed for the governor. Ron DeSantis’ desk for his signature.
The bill’s critics claim that it will curtail critical lessons on American history as well as discussions about racial and cultural issues. They have accused supporters of the measure of wanting to make white students feel “comfortable” and have suggested this is part of a widespread effort to ban America’s true history from the classroom.
The Hill published a piece in which the author deceptively claims “[e]mployers would also be subject to discrimination claims if they require trainings or discussions about Black history, LGBTQ+ issues and other concepts of injustice and discrimination.”
A cursory look at the bill’s text will show that this claim is false. The issue the proposal addresses isn’t training “about Black History, LGBTQ+ issues and other concepts of injustice and discrimination.” The bill itself says the required trainings cannot put forth racist ideas including:
Moral superiority is given to people of one color, race, sex or national origin than members of others.
Individuals are inherently racists, sexists, and oppressive because of their race, colour, sex or national origin. An individual’s moral character or status as either privileged or oppressed is necessarily determined by his or her race, color, sex, or national origin.
This is also a reference when describing what kind of racism would be banned in schools. This boils down to making sure that people who receive such instructions or training don’t believe inherently superior or inferior races, sexual orientations, etc.
The Tallahassee DemocratAlso published was a piece that dispelled common myths surrounding the proposed legislation. “Although not taught in Florida schools, DeSantis advances the fear that critical race theory threatens to influence how history and social science are taught. He got the Florida Board of Education last year to specifically ban its use in schools,” the author wrote.
The reality is that no one is teaching Critical Race Theory (CRT). There is no evidence that teachers have entered classrooms to tell students about Critical Race Theory. Teachers are often presenting CRT-related concepts or being inspired by them.
An example of this is the article I wrote about an Illinois teacher that filed a suit against her school district claiming it had been teaching students racially-discriminatory material. One of the lessons mentioned in the lawsuit included a lesson teaching that “whiteness is a bad deal” and even created a list titled “Contract Binding you to WHITENESS” which featured items like “stolen land, “stolen riches,” “special favors.”
The book “Critical Race Theory: An Introduction” talks extensively about the concept of “whiteness.” Indeed, it is a topic that comes up quite frequently in discussions centered on CRT.
Deceptive is the notion that the law’s purpose is to ensure white students don’t feel uneasy. While including white students, it also ensures that teachings labeling non-white students as “oppressed” or pushing them to believe they cannot achieve success because of their skin color could also make them feel uncomfortable as well.
The bill text makes it clear that this section is for teachings which are specifically intended to make students uncomfortable about being singled. It does not refer to lessons detailing parts of America’s history that would naturally make any normal person feel uncomfortable.
Gov. DeSantis has not yet signed the bill, but it won’t be long before he does, which is why leftists are already pushing false narratives. Once he signs the bill, however, you can expect to hear a lot of wailing, gnashing, and other leftist reactions in their usual hysterical style. This, combined with the passage of the “Parental Rights in Education” bill will send them into a tizzy the likes of which has not been seen since the last time former President Donald Trump sneezed wrong. But in the end, this will be yet another “L” they have to take.
About Post Author
