Advocates rally in Lakeland, criticize DeSantis for blocking African-American studies class

LAKELAND — Terry Coney, president of the NAACP’s Lakeland Branch, considered going to Tallahassee on Wednesday to join the “Stop the Black Attack” rally at the Florida Capitol.

But Coney chose a different location to voice his opposition to the policies of Gov. Ron DeSantis, and particularly the Florida Department of Education’s rejection of a high school course devoted to African-American studies.

Coney joined other civil rights leaders Wednesday afternoon, standing across the street from the site of the former Rochelle High School, the all-Black school from which Coney graduated in 1968. He said the location symbolized the need for Florida’s students to learn about the full experience of Black Americans.

“But let's remember, in the state of Florida, consistently, around the state of Florida, we don't have African-American studies taught,” Coney said. “African American history is American history. So that history should be entwined in African-American and American history in all schools around the state of Florida.”

Coney stood along with about 20 others Wednesday in the parking lot of Coney Funeral Home. (He is related to the owners but not employed there.) The gathering included Willie Mincey Jr., president of the NAACP Winter Haven branch; Lorenzo Robinson, president of the Paul A. Diggs Neighborhood Association; and Veronica Rountree, vice president of the NAACP Lakeland chapter and president of the Valencia/Pinehurst Neighborhood Association.

Stephanie Yocum, president of the Polk Education Association, joined others in condemning the Department of Education for blocking state schools from offering the newly developed Advanced Placement class on African-American studies.

Lakeland police officers:BLM alleges 'pattern of violent behavior'

Complaints of excessive force:Lakeland police officers accused of punching man at traffic stop put on modified duty

Viral video of arrest:Polk BLM calls for arrest of 4 Lakeland officers, removal of new police chief

'Significantly lacks educational value'

In announcing the decision last week, the Department of Education first said that the course ran contrary to Florida law and "significantly lacks educational value.”

In response to rising criticism, the state offered more detailed reasons for banning the course. Educational officials said the curriculum advances the idea that modern American society oppresses Black people and minorities, included criticisms of capitalism and contained a chapter on “Black Queer Studies.”

DeSantis said the course promoted a political agenda and violated the Stop WOKE Act passed by the Florida Legislature last year.

Those who spoke Wednesday in Lakeland dismissed those explanations and instead focused on what they see as the DeSantis Administration’s push to silence dissenting voices, what Coney called the governor’s “anti-everything agenda.”

William Boss, a licensed clinical counselor, echoed Coney’s claim that the history taught in Florida schools does not fully incorporate the lives of Black Americans.

“When we allow children to get partial history, that's inadequate history,” Boss said, his thundering voice cutting through the gusting winds. “Our history is so profound. Our history is so rich. Don't you want your babies to know what we did, our ancestors did? Don't you want them to know how we contributed?”

The Lakeland event mirrored a rally taking place at the same time in Tallahassee. Speakers there included prominent civil rights lawyer Ben Crump; Fedrick Ingram, secretary-treasurer of the American Federation of Teachers; and state Rep. Fentrice Driskell, D-Tampa, a Polk County native and a graduate of Lake Gibson High School.

The course in question and Polk County

Yocum, whose union represents teachers and other school employees, said local teachers have reacted negatively to the state decision on the AP course.

“In Polk and even statewide, they feel like we're in this dystopian reality now that they still can't quite believe that we're here,” Yocum said. “And that, essentially, we have a governor who is saying out of one side of his mouth that we're the freest state, yet he's taking away freedoms of parents and our communities and our kids to have a diversified curriculum that represents them.”

The College Board, which oversees Advanced Placement courses, has spent a decade developing the African-American Studies class and is introducing it at 60 high schools nationwide, the Associated Press reported. No school or state would be required to offer it after its scheduled rollout.

Polk County Public Schools had not yet taken any steps toward offering the African-American studies course, district spokesperson Kyle Kennedy said. The district offers at least some AP classes in all of its high schools, Kennedy said.

The College Board, a nonprofit entity, offers more than 30 AP courses in such subjects as art history, European history, microeconomics, calculus and chemistry. Courses are devoted to language (or literature) and culture for Chinese, French, German, Italian, Japanese and Spanish.

Students who complete Advanced Placement can boost their grade-point averages and earn college credits.

There are no reports of Florida previously questioning the curriculum in any AP classes. The Ledger found no reports that other states have rejected the new African-American studies course.

Yocum used strong language in dismissing the reasons Florida Education Commissioner Manny Diaz gave for rejecting the new AP course.

“A lot of what comes out of Commissioner Diaz’s mouth is just straight from the governor, trying to make him less racist, at this point,” she said. “And so, to me, their comments and their commentary on this is just a farce to try to make, maybe, their base feel better about themselves.”

Traffic lights replacedLakeland changes 7 downtown intersections to four-way stops

Near Kathleen641 homes planned near Kathleen in Fox Branch Ranch development

Winter Haven pregnancy centerJustice Department indicts two for spray-painted threats

'It is sinful. It is wicked'

Coney noted that Rochelle High School remained entirely Black until graduating its final class in 1969, 15 years after the U.S. Supreme Court invalidated school segregation in the Brown v. Board of Education ruling. It took a long-running lawsuit to force Polk County to integrate its schools. (The former high school is now Rochelle School of the Arts, a K-8 magnet school.)

Pastor Eddie Lake of New Bethel A.M.E. Church in Lakeland lamented Florida’s “tyrannical rulership” under DeSantis, who won re-election in November by a nearly 20% margin and is widely expected to run for president in 2024.

“Gov. DeSantis, I love you, but I hate what you're doing,” Lake said. “I hate what you stand for. I hate what you are allowing and forcing this state to become. It is absolutely ridiculous. It is sinful. It is wicked. The stances that you are taking to bring fear to this nation, to bring fear to the hearts of the people in Florida.”

Boss implored others to join in opposition to the Florida Department of Education’s policies.

“We're calling upon the local elected officials, the state elected officials, we're calling on nonprofit organizations, to get involved because it's very critical,” he said. “We must begin to stand and rise to the occasion. We call in everyone that are very conscientious not to endorse policies that certainly represent deprivation and inequality.”

While Wednesday’s rally focused on the African-American studies course, speakers said the Department of Education’s decision connects with a range of policies and actions taken by DeSantis and other state leaders.

Coney mentioned the passage of a so-called “anti-riot bill” in 2021, following a wave of protests in Florida and other states in response to the murder of George Floyd by Minnesota police officers.

Yocum said the rejection of the African-American studies course is part of a “bigger, systemic problem.” She cited a proposed bill, considered a main priority for Republican leaders in this year’s legislative session, that offers voucher money for any student to attend a private school. She also criticized proposed legislation that would make it harder for teacher unions to collect dues, impose term limits on school board members and allow partisan school board elections.

“Again, this is just one piece of the bigger puzzle to the dismantlement of public education from our state,” Yocum said.

A request for comment on the rallies in Tallahassee and Lakeland sent to DeSantis’ office on Tuesday afternoon was routed to the Department of Education. The Ledger had not received a response by Wednesday afternoon.

Gary White can be reached at gary.white@theledger.com or 863-802-7518. Follow on Twitter @garywhite13.

This article originally appeared on The Ledger: In Lakeland, advocates blast DeSantis over blocked Black studies class