House Assistant Minority Leader Rep. James Clyburn (D-SC) said Tuesday on CNN’s “Anderson Cooper 360” that it was “very inappropriate” Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) is attempting to “whitewash history” with his state’s new education standards.
Cooper said, “Florida is requiring instruction for middle school students to include, quote, ‘How slaves develop skills which in some instances could be applied for their own personal benefit,’ end quote. Does that make any sense to you?”
Clyburn said, “Absolutely none whatsoever unless you’re looking for some way to whitewash history. I’m pretty interested in finding out what all is in that list of suggestions as to how they should teach history. I’m wondering today what will be taught about the Rosewood Massacre that had such an impact on Florida? I’m sure it would have an impact on anybody reading the history of Florida.”
Cooper said, “DeSantis is now saying that he, quote, Wasn’t involved in the new instruction requirement, but he did defend it.”
DeSantis said, “I think what they’re doing is, I think that they’re probably going to show some of the folks that eventually parlayed, you know, being a blacksmith into doing things later in life.”
Cooper said, “I mean, the idea of somebody learning some blacksmithing skills while they were enslaved, and that somehow something they were able to parlay, it just seems a really inappropriate rewriting of history.”
Clyburn said, “It’s a very inappropriate way to rewrite history. The leg irons I suspect were taken off of them so they could turn it into gates.”
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