V.P. Harris to speak out against Florida’s Black history curriculum during visit to Sunshine State

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - Vice President Kamala Harris will make a stop in Jacksonville on Friday, her office said, "to deliver remarks on the fight to protect fundamental freedoms, specifically, the freedom to learn and teach America’s full and true history."

The trip comes two days after the Florida Board of Education adopted a new K-12 curriculum for African American history, drawing backlash from Black leaders as well as from the Florida Education Association. 

Critics of the new standards argue that they omit or rewrite key historical facts about the Black experience. 

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"In the state of Florida, they decided middle school students will be taught that enslaved people benefited from slavery," Harris said in a tweet on Thursday. "They insult us in an attempt to gaslight us, and we will not stand for it." In a later tweet, the vice president characterized the new curriculum as an attempt to "cover up our history and rewrite the horrors of slavery."

According to the new guidelines, students will be taught that enslaved people "developed skills which, in some instances, could be applied for their personal benefit." 

In a statement released earlier this week, NAACP President & CEO Derrick Johnson called the curriculum a "step backward for educational justice in Florida."

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"Today’s actions by the Florida state government are an attempt to bring our country back to a 19th century America where Black life was not valued, nor our rights protected. It is imperative that we understand that the horrors of slavery and Jim Crow were a violation of human rights and represent the darkest period in American history. We refuse to go back. The NAACP has been fighting against malicious actors such as those within the DeSantis Administration for over a century, and we’re prepared to continue that fight by any means necessary. Our children deserve nothing less than truth, justice, and the equity our ancestors shed blood, sweat, and tears for."

File: Students in classroom. 

"There is no higher calling than to protect our children from unwelcome influences and indoctrination," said Commissioner of Education Manny Diaz, Jr in a press release shortly after the new standard were passed.  "The rules adopted today ensure that our kids can be kids while in the care of our schools. I thank Governor Ron DeSantis, the Legislature and the State Board of Education for their unwavering commitment to the health, wellbeing and safety of our students."

Harris is slated to depart Washington at 12:30 p.m. Friday for a 2:20 p.m. arrival time in Jacksonville. There, she will reportedly meet with parents, educators, civil rights leaders and elected officials before delivering her remarks at 3:45 p.m. from the Ritz Theater & Museum. The remarks will be live-streamed on WhiteHouse.gov/live.