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The Cleanest Whitewash of History
Following the publication of Florida’s new history standards, two sentences from the 216-page document drew criticism for distorting African American history.
Democratic critics throughout the country seized on the assertion that “slaves developed skills that, in some instances, could be applied for their personal benefit” and accused Florida’s Republican leaders of promoting the notion that slavery was beneficial to African Americans.
The other one, which instructed teachers to “include acts of violence perpetuated against and by African Americans” during race riots, received little attention. There were critics who denounced the new history standards for claiming there was violence on both sides.
When comparing the two statements, it is clear the Democratic critics could have bludgeoned Florida’s Republican leadership much more effectively with the second statement, but the national outrage was directed at the first.
Every honest person who read the 216-page document was fully aware that the new history standards never claimed slavery was beneficial to African Americans, and the Democratic critics were grandstanding. But teaching that there was violence against and by African Americans during race riots, on the other hand, is considerably more difficult to justify, especially if Florida’s Republican…