DeSantis administration, so full of bravado, won’t look Black Miami parents in the eye | Opinion

Gov. Ron DeSantis hasn’t backed down from Florida new Black history standards. In fact, he’s doubled down. He’s challenged Vice President Kamala Harris for a debate and accused the White House of spreading “lies” about it.

So boisterous is our governor, but when it comes to facing parents — especially Black ones — face to face, his administration won’t do it. It’s a cowardly move by an administration that showed it only governs on behalf of some Floridians, those who agree with his extreme education policies.

Commissioner of Education Manny Diaz Jr., a DeSantis appointee, was scheduled to appear at a Miami Gardens town hall Thursday evening to discuss the controversial standards. Diaz, a former Miami-Dade County Public Schools teacher, backed out of the meeting organized by state Sen. Shevrin Jones, the Herald reported Wednesday.

“There was nothing sudden about my inability to attend Senator Jones’ town hall,” Diaz wrote on X, the platform formerly called Twitter. “As I told the senator last week, I will be visiting schools throughout the state to welcome back students, parents and teachers for the first day of school.”

While the new Florida standards teach the harsh conditions enslaved African faced in America, it also discusses how, “Slaves developed skills which, in some instances, could be applied for their personal benefit.” Another section creates a false equivalence between “violence perpetrated against and by African Americans” in the early 1900s. It’s putting lynchings on the same level as violence African Americans might have committed in response to the dehumanization they faced.

Diaz has staunchly defended the new curriculum. After Harris and the White House criticized Florida, he wrote this on X: “More dishonesty from the Biden-Harris administration, who want to infuse sexually graphic materials in the classroom and teach students to hate each other.”

It’s easy to be a keyboard warrior, speak via written statements or mostly to friendly media, as DeSantis does.

Diaz expected to find an audience on Thursday that was much different than the echo chambers of social media. Jones told the Herald Editorial Board more than 1,000 people signed up for the town hall at Antioch Baptist Church, a Black congregation.

“Parents are mad as hell,” Jones said.

We understand why. DeSantis has made teaching history all about white children and their parents. Teachers risk their jobs if they talk about race in ways that could be perceived as making white students feel guilty about slavery and discrimination. Black Floridians are right to feel they are less then a second thought for the DeSantis administration.

Dealing with angry constituents is part of the job Diaz and DeSantis signed up for. It’s part of democracy to explain the policies you have instituted on behalf of the taxpayers, including those who didn’t vote for you or who don’t agree with you.

Florida has defended the Black history standards as showing the resilience of enslaved Americans. If talking about the strength of African Americans was truly their intent — and perhaps the wording of the curriculum was just unfortunate— why not explain that to Floridians who care about this issue?

Jones, who served with Diaz in the Florida Legislature for years, said backing out of the town hall is “100% out of character for Manny.” Perhaps Diaz was genuine when, according to Jones, he confirmed his presence on July 23. On Thursday afternoon, a Department of Education spokeswoman sent photos of Diaz visiting schools in Osceola County, near Orlando.

Maybe things changed because the governor is running for president. He’s faced backlash over the slavery curriculum from not only Democrats but also from Republican primary opponents like South Carolina U.S. Sen. Tim Scott, who’s Black, and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley. Sending his top education deputy to get possibly yelled at by parents is the type of publicity the struggling DeSantis campaign doesn’t need.

Two years ago, Jones hosted a town hall with then-Commissioner of Education Richard Corcoran, also a Republican appointee. Back then, parents were upset about testing and teacher shortages, Jones said. Now, they are unhappy with how Florida is trying to sanitize education to please conservative voters.

That’s an existential threat to Black parents and their children who don’t see their needs reflected in public education. More than an apology for Diaz’s no-show, Florida owes them an explanation.

Commissioner Diaz, where are you?