Racially Motivated Censorship: The Stop WOKE Act and Further Repercussions
Adults will tell you they have forgotten most of what they learned at school; specific things like algebraic formulas and Spanish conjugations. However, some things are so simple and obvious that they may never forget: slavery was a terrible part of American history that can never be forgotten. House Bill 7, or the Stop WOKE Act was enacted by Florida governor Ron DeSantis on April 22, 2022, with the problematic statement that people are not privileged or oppressed based on race, and this should not be mentioned in private business, higher education, or K-12 education settings. Because of this act, many other issues have come up with the Florida Department of Education as they aim to satisfy the act’s restrictions on how race, gender, and history can be taught to K-12 students. This act clearly violates the first and Fourteenth Amendments, as well as the equal protection clause, and it is a serious problem as it enforces that discrimination is still an issue in the U.S. Though the act has been blocked in private businesses and is currently being litigated in higher education, it is still impacting children K-12 in Florida. It is creating inconsistency from state to state on how historical facts are being presented based on prejudice and personal perspective, with claims such as slavery being “beneficial” to African Americans who experienced it. Not only are the students of Florida misinformed, but sparsely informed, about the state of slavery in the United States in the 18th and 19th centuries.
The Stop WOKE Act led to serious legal backlash. Knowing what the act could mean for the future of education and work for minorities—not only in Florida, but also in other states that might follow- groups hurried to defend DEI and discrimination awareness. The only group listed in the act that lawsuits failed to protect was K-12 education, and this has led to further controversy within the Florida Department of Education (ED).
In January of 2023, the Florida ED rejected the AP African American Studies course, calling it “woke indoctrination”. Through rejecting the Advanced Placement course, they rejected nuances and perspectives of African American history, thus neglecting the full story. High school students represented by civil rights attorneys prepared lawsuits, complaining that they were being deprived of a fair education. In response, the College Board allowed them to keep their AP African American Studies class, but gave them a modified version that removed the “woke” topics that had been flagged, leaving them with an inaccurate textbook.
In July of the same year, the Florida ED modified the K-12 state academic standards in the social studies curriculum for slavery. A Florida African American History Standards Workgroup was put together to create the new, modified curriculum. In a 216-page document about the state’s 2023 standards in social studies, they wrote in the new curriculum that “slaves developed skills which, in some instances, could be applied for their personal benefit”. This is clearly a deeply problematic statement that did not at all take into account the moral wrongness of the institution of slavery, and distorted the institution as an inspiring obstacle for the enslaved. Though these are large issues that are impacting the education of students in Florida, a First Amendment challenge on behalf of K-12 education is immensely hard to win in court, since public school teachers are speaking on behalf of the state when they teach. It was much easier to win on behalf of private businesses and higher education.
After HB 7 was passed, just 12 days later, HoneyFund, a crowdfunding and wedding registry platform, filed a lawsuit against Governor DeSantis. They claimed he violated their First and Fourteenth Amendment rights by censoring their private employers for conducting DEI training. They were successful in this lawsuit (HoneyFund v. Governor DeSantis) and blocked the jurisdiction of the act in private businesses. Pernell v. Lamb was soon filed as a fight for higher education. It began in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida, where the plaintiff was the ACLU, the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, and Ballard Spahr. They were luckily provided with a preliminary injunction while legal battles continued. Despite an appeal by the state of Florida to the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals, asking them to pause the injunction against the lower court's judgment, the court allowed the law to continue to be blocked while both the higher and lower courts come to a decision, which remains pending.
This act clearly violates the First and Fourteenth Amendments through “viewpoint-based discrimination” (ACLU) instead of just giving the known facts of American history. It also violates the Equal Protection Clause because of racially discriminatory purposes, and is still impacting children K-12 as they are not only misinformed, but sparsely informed, about the state of slavery in the United States in the 18th and 19th centuries. Most of the board of education workgroup have remained silent on the issue; however, Dr. William B. Allen and Dr. Frances Presley Rice, two prominent members of the group, have spoken out. “Any attempt to reduce slaves to just victims of oppression fails to recognize their strength, courage and resiliency during a difficult time in American history,” they said in a joint statement. While this statement supposedly addresses the modification, it fails to mention that the majority of slaves came out of slavery uneducated and unskilled, and struggled to become fully integrated members of society due to the constant obstacle of racism and poverty. Of course, it was a difficult time in American history, but specifically for the freedmen population.
All in all, due to Florida House Bill 7, since 2022, there have been constant modifications to the typically standard history curriculum to either erase slavery (a large stain on American history) or make it seem insignificant in its effect on the African American community. The Stop WOKE Act of Florida bars instruction (in history textbooks) “that might make members of one race feel guilty for past actions committed by their race”. To many, this act seems unnecessary, ridiculous, and part of some confusing effort to sugarcoat the institution of slavery. It is a given that there were no positive outcomes to slavery, and mentioning a small group of black pioneers does not mean that the majority of freedmen came out of enslavement successfully and prepared to make a living. The only driving force in this arguably problematic litigation is denial. Instead of just endorsing that slavery was a terrible part of American history, the Department of Education in Florida aims to somehow prove it was not.
Bibliography
Álvarez, Brenda. 2023. “Florida’s New History Standard: ‘a Blow to Our Students and Nation’ | NEA.” Www.nea.org. August 3, 2023.
https://www.nea.org/nea-today/all-news-articles/floridas-new-history-standard-blow-our students-and-nation.
Griffith, Janelle. 2022. “ACLU Files Lawsuit Challenging Florida’s ‘Stop WOKE Act.’” NBC News. August 18, 2022.
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/aclu-files-lawsuit-challenging-floridas-stop-wo ke-act-rcna43597.
———. 2023. “Most of Florida Work Group Did Not Agree with Controversial Parts of State’s New Standards for Black History, Members Say.” NBC News. July 28, 2023. https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/florida-work-group-not-agree-controversial-par ts-states-new-standards-rcna96490.
“Newsweek: Florida Can’t Decide If It Wants to Erase Black History, or Just Lie about It | Representative Shontel Brown.” 2023. Shontelbrown.house.gov. August 4, 2023. https://shontelbrown.house.gov/media/opinion-op-ed/newsweek-florida-cant-decide-if-it wants-erase-black-history-or-just-lie-about.
Planas, Antonio. 2023. “New Florida Standards Teach Students That Some Black People Benefited from Slavery Because It Taught Useful Skills.” NBC News, July 21, 2023. https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/new-florida-standards-teach-black-people-bene fited-slavery-taught-usef-rcna95418.