NAACP Does Florida!

 

by Pa Rock

Citizen Journalist

On Saturday the NAACP, our nation’s premier Civil Rights organization, issued a travel advisory on the state of Florida warning would-be travelers to the state that, under the leadership of Governor Ron DeSantis, Florida is becoming increasingly hostile to Black Americans as well as to other struggling minority groups.  In its advisory the national organization spoke of DeSantis’s “aggressive” attempts to remove the teaching of Black history from the curriculum of Florida schools, and his efforts to restrict “diversity, equity, and inclusion programs in Florida schools.”
 
DeSantis was instrumental in blocking the introduction of an Advanced Placement program in African American Studies from Florida high schools.
 
In a statement on the matter the NAACP said:
 

“Florida had been openly hostile toward African Americans, people of color, and LGBTQ+ individuals.   Before traveling to Florida, please understand that the state of Florida devalues and marginalizes the contributions of, and the challenges faced by African Americans and other communities of color.”

 
“The League of United Latin American Citizens” and “Equality Florida” an LGBTQ advocacy group, have previously issued travel advisories encouraging people not to come to the Sunshine State.  Tourism is a huge part of Florida’s economy  - and more that 137 million people visited the state in 2022.
 
DeSantis, a Republican who is about to announce a bid for the GOP presidential nomination, has been steadily positioning himself as a right-wing extremist for the past couple of years.  Part of his political assault on his own state has been an unrelenting attack on the state’s major employer, Walt Disney World.  His beef with Disney goes back to when the Magic Kingdom spoke out against the DeSantis' anti-gay policies.    

At some point the governor of Florida will foul his own nest to the point that decent and tolerant people will look elsewhere for their vacation experiences – and perhaps even their retirement homes.  Florida's economy will falter, and Ron DeSantis will own the mess he created.
 
Great work, NAACP.  Now do Texas!