Washington Post joins left's attacks on 'horrendous' Florida history curriculum

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The Washington Post became the latest mainstream media outlet to denounce Florida’s Board of Education standards regarding African American history.

"Florida has done it again. The state’s Board of Education has unveiled its newest standards for the instruction of African American history in public schools, and they include some horrendous elements," the editorial board wrote on Friday.

Specifically, the editorial highlighted two of the 191 items listed in the standards which included instruction on how slaves "developed skills which, in some instances, could be applied for their personal benefit" and how the race massacres were "perpetuated by" both Black and White Americans.

"So Florida’s children will now learn that slavery was, in part, a beneficial job-training program, and that Black Americans shared the blame for the violence that White mobs inflicted upon their communities," the Post's editorial board lamented. 

The Washington Post referred to Florida's Board of Education standards as "horrendous." (REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst/File Photo)

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The Washington Post continued, "Diluting the horrors of slavery does not serve or protect children. It deprives them of the liberating power of knowledge, and a comprehensive education that readies them to shape the future by understanding the past. There is no historical counterargument to the atrocities of slavery or the racial violence that resulted from its abolition. Florida’s plan to teach otherwise should alarm Americans everywhere."

Liberal personalities have accused Gov. Ron DeSantis of "whitewashing" history on slavery. (Paul Hennessy/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

The Florida Department of Education pushed back on criticism with a lengthy statement. 

"There have been questions raised about language within a benchmark clarification of standard SS.68.AA.2.3, which says ‘Instruction includes how slaves developed skills which, in some instances, could be applied for their personal benefit," the statement reads. "The intent of this particular benchmark clarification is to show that some slaves developed highly specialized trades from which they benefited. This is factual and well-documented. Some examples include: blacksmiths like Ned Cobb, Henry Blair, Lewis Latimer and John Henry; shoemakers like James Forten, Paul Cuffe and Betty Washington Lewis; fishing and shipping industry workers like Jupiter Hammon, John Chavis, William Whipper and Crispus Attucks; tailors like Elizabeth Keckley, James Thomas and Marietta Carter; and teachers like Betsey Stockton and Booker T. Washington."

It continued, "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. Florida students deserve to learn how slaves took advantage of whatever circumstances they were in to benefit themselves and the community of African descendants."

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signs a series of education bills at Cambridge Christian school in Tampa, Fla. on Wednesday, May 17, 2023.  ((Photo by Thomas Simonetti for The Washington Post via Getty Images))

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Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis' press secretary, Jeremy Redfern, pointed out that Encyclopedia.com also has a similar description of slaves developing skills that benefited on one of their web pages titled "Crafts And Slave Handicrafts: An Overview."

"During the colonial period in the South—as well as in the Northern and Middle colonies—a system of apprenticeship emerged that further developed the skills of enslaved craftspeople while enriching slaveholders. Slaves were apprenticed to cabinetmakers, silversmiths, goldsmiths, printers, and engravers. In some cases these skills created benefit for the slaves; some were able to purchase their own freedom, and others fled, assured of their ability to earn a living," the page read.

"What happens first? 1) http://Encyclopedia.com changes their website to placate the left. Or 2) The left cancels http://Encyclopedia.com, Oxford, Columbia, and Cengage," Redfern tweeted.

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Vanderbilt Prof. Michael Eric Dyson also criticized the education standards on MSNBC, comparing it to downplaying the Holocaust.

"This would be like teaching the Holocaust saying that there were some good things that Jewish brothers and sisters picked up in those death camps that should they survive it would be helpful for them to make their way in life," he said.