Originally Posted: 4/25/2022
By: Trimmel Gomes
Gov. Ron DeSantis has been confronting a lot of
issues dealing with race and inclusion. The latest is his signing into
law his
version of Florida's new Congressional district maps which
heavily benefits Republicans and slashes the number of Black districts in half,
from four to two.
DeSantis claims the districts were racially gerrymandered, but his proposed
"race-neutral" map caused a sit-in protest by mostly Black lawmakers
in the Florida House at the end of the redistricting special session.
Rep. Angie Nixon, D-Jacksonville, expressed her frustration.
"Ron DeSantis is disrespectful, Ron DeSantis is a bully, Ron DeSantis does
not care about Black people," Nixon asserted. "I will not bite my
tongue. There is an incessant attack on Black people in the state of
Florida."
The League of Women Voters of Florida and a number of Democratic-aligned
redistricting groups filed
suit the same day the governor signed his maps into law.
The League successfully challenged the state during the last redistricting
process, and its president now vows to fight for "the votes and voices of
hundreds of thousands of Black voters."
The DeSantis administration also stirred controversy when it announced a ban of
54 of 132 math textbooks it said included references to "critical race
theory" and other "prohibited" topics, but offered no details.
Bacardi Jackson, interim legal director for the children's rights project at
the Southern Poverty Law Center, said she thinks ongoing pushback from the
Black Lives Matter movement sparked conversations about the impact of systemic
and structural racism.
"We seem to be in an era and a moment that said, 'White supremacy now,
White supremacy always. We will resist every effort to make our society
diverse,' " Jackson contended.
Jackson filed a public-records request for the administration to reveal its
criteria for rejecting books. The Department of Education only lists four
examples on its website and is unclear about specific concerns.
DeSantis has long pledged to take a stand against what he calls
"state-sanctioned racism" and on Friday he signed into law what
he calls the "Stop WOKE Act," which restricts how race is discussed
in schools, colleges and workplaces.
DeSantis also signed a bill just days after it was introduced revoking the Walt
Disney Company's special district status in the state.
Daniel Uhlfelder, a former Republican turned Democratic activist and candidate
for Attorney General, called the move reckless.
"That seems to be a pattern with the leadership we have where they make
these very quick, rash, impulsive decisions when someone or something does
something that they don't agree with," Uhlfelder remarked. "That is a
dangerous precedent. "
Tax experts and legislators said eliminating the district could have unintended
consequences for county taxpayers, underscoring Uhlfelder's point the decision
needed the careful analysis of experts, not a surprise issue for lawmakers in
special session to address congressional redistricting.
Content for this Post is provided by Florida News
Connection, a Bureau of Public News Service.
Public News Service is a member of the The Trust Project.
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