ORLANDO, Fla. – Vice President Kamala Harris says she will not accept an invitation by Gov. Ron DeSantis to debate or discuss state Black history education standards that have become the focal point of criticism over Florida’s recent African American history curriculum.
Speaking Tuesday in Orlando at the 20th Women’s Missionary Society of the African Methodist Episcopal Church Quadrennial Convention, Harris criticized Florida’s new education policy, which includes a line that enslaved people were able to use skills they learned for personal benefit.
Harris visited Jacksonville earlier this month, decrying new Florida education standards for Black history in schools.
“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.
FLDOE adopted new teaching standards for African American history that teach “slaves developed skills which, in some instances, could be applied for their personal benefit.” Those standards refer to trade skills that enslaved people could put to use in the private market upon being freed.
Watch Vice President Kamala Harris’ speech:
DeSantis, as part of defending the policy, urged Harris to meet with himself and Dr. William Allen, a Black conservative political science professor who worked on the new curriculum.
But Harris publicly rejected the meeting in her remarks Tuesday.
“Well, I’m here in Florida and I will tell you, there is no round table, no lecture, no invitation we will accept to debate an undeniable fact there were no redeeming qualities of slavery,” Harris said.
It should be noted that DeSantis did not invite Harris to debate whether there were redeeming qualities to slavery. Instead, he invited the vice president to discuss the language in the state’s curriculum.
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Harris used the rest of the address to tout Biden administration successes for the Black community, including funding for historically Black colleges and universities, looking at ways to address maternal mortality and working to replace lead pipes used for drinking water.
Harris’ has not been the only prominent American politician to criticize Florida’s new standards.
Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Florida, also received ire from Florida Dept. of Education officials and DeSantis’ political campaign by saying the line about freed slaves using skills for their personal benefit in the standards could be better worded, while supporting the rest of the standards.
What's crazy to me is I expressed support for the vast majority of the new African American history standards and happened to oppose one sentence that seemed to dignify the skills gained by slaves as a result of their enslavement.
— Byron Donalds (@ByronDonalds) July 27, 2023
Anyone who can't accurately interpret what I… https://t.co/b6hqaSJtlp
Other Black Republicans also criticized the line, including U.S. Sen. and presidential candidate Tim Scott.
Florida officials pushed back against the criticisms, pointing out that those standards mirrored the College Board’s Black history curriculum, which reads:
In addition to agricultural work, enslaved people learned specialized trades and worked as painters, carpenters, tailors, musicians, and healers in the North and South. Once free, American (sic) Americans used these skills to provide for themselves and others.
College Board AP African American Studies framework
The Women’s Missionary Society of the African Methodist Episcopal Church is “an international faith-based” organization that is “committed to winning souls to Christ, health, economic, peace and justice issues,” the group’s website reads.
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