'Slavery benefited blacks': new school program in Florida surprised teachers and human rights activists

Florida public schools will now teach students that some blacks benefited from slavery because it taught them useful skills. The information is part of new African American history standards approved on July 19 that have been criticized by the state teachers' union as "a step backwards." The edition told in more detail NBC News.

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The Florida Board of Education's new standards contain controversial language about how "slaves developed skills that in some cases could be used for their personal gain," according to the 216 2023-page State Social Science Standards document released by the Florida Department of Education.

Another claim that has drawn the ire of some educators and education advocates includes evidence that blacks were the perpetrators of the violence during the massacres.

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The Florida Education Association, the state's teacher union representing about 150 teachers, called the new standards "a disservice to Florida students and a big step backwards for the state."

“How can our students prepare for the future if they do not have a complete and honest picture of what has been? Florida students deserve a world-class education that prepares them to become successful adults who can help heal the divisions in our country, not make them worse,” said Union President Andrew Spar.

“Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is pursuing a political agenda that is guaranteed to turn good people against each other, and in the process he is defrauding our children,” Spar said. “They deserve the whole truth about American history, good and bad.”

The union said it was concerned that, at the school level, the standards conflated the 1920 Okoee massacre, in which at least 30 African Americans were killed for trying to vote, with "acts of violence committed by African Americans." In addition, students will need to be taught that slavery was beneficial to African Americans because it helped them develop unique skills.

An update to the African American history curriculum was required due to a controversial 2022 law that Gov. Ron DeSantis called the "Stop Harm to Our Children and Employees Act," or the "WOKE Stop Act."

Drs. William Allen and Francis Presley Rice of the Florida Department of Education called the new standards "a comprehensive and rigorous guide to African American history."

“We proudly support these standards of African American history,” the statement said. “The purpose of this is to show that some slaves were engaged in highly specialized crafts from which they benefited.” This is true and documented."

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Department officials noted: “Some examples include: blacksmiths such as Ned Cobb, Henry Blair, Lewis Latimer and John Henry; shoemakers such as James Forten, Paul Cuffe and Betty Washington Lewis; fishing and shipping industry workers such as Jupiter Hammon, John Chavis, William Whipper, and Crispus Attucks; tailors—Elizabeth Keckley, James Thomas, and Marietta Carter; and teachers like Betsy Stockton and Booker Washington.”

They say it is "disappointing" that some detractors have devalued the working group's study and reduced it to "a few isolated expressions without context."

In January, the DeSantis administration blocked a new Advanced Placement course in African American studies from teaching in high schools, saying it violated state law and was historically inaccurate.

That same month, DeSantis and Education Commissioner Manny Diaz Jr. discussed the issue at a press conference. They said the course was a Trojan horse for "indoctrination" into students of leftist ideology under the guise of teaching African American history.

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