Kamala Harris on Florida's Black history standards: 'We will be stronger if we remember'

Editor's note: Watch Vice President Kamala Harris's remarks, beginning at the 34:30 mark in the video above.

Describing the Florida Department of Education's revision to Black history curriculum taught in the state's schools as "propaganda," Vice President Kamala Harris, speaking before a packed Ritz Theatre and Museum on Friday in Jacksonville, criticized the new standards that include instruction that enslaved people benefited from skills that they learned.

“How is it that anyone could suggest that in the midst of these atrocities that there was any benefit to being subjected to this level of dehumanization?” Harris asked during remarks to the audience at the theater located in LaVilla, a historically African American neighborhood near Jacksonville's downtown.

“Let us not be seduced into believing that somehow we will be better if we forget,” she said. “We will be better if we remember. We will be stronger if we remember.”

Harris spoke for about 25 minutes at the theater Friday afternoon after arriving at Jacksonville International Airport around 2:15 p.m.

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"We will stand united as a country. We know our collective history. It is our shared history. We are all in this together. We know that we rise and fall together as a nation. And we will not allow them to suggest anything other than what we know the vast majority of us have so much more in common than what separates us. And so let us stand always for what we know is right. Let us fight for what is right and when we fight, we win. God bless you and God bless the United States of America."

That's how Vice President Kamala Harris ended her 25-minute address to the audience at Jacksonville's Ritz Theatre Friday afternoon. You can view her speech in its entirety with the video above.

- Gary Mills

Before remarks, VP Kamala Harris visits with attendees in overflow room at packed theater

The theater is full, with some attendees standing along the wall and sitting in an overflow room watching speeches from television screens. An overall count of attendees is expected later today.

Vice President Harris first greeted the overflow room around 3:55, speaking for a few minutes on the importance of education and standing together. Attendees met her with a standing ovation, and Harris left after posing for a selfie with the group.

“We are prepared to stand together as one nation, undivided, and fighting for the best of who we are.”

- Hanna Holthaus

Coming up: VP Harris delivers remarks at 3:45

Vice President Harris is expected to deliver remarks at 3:45 p.m. from the historic Ritz Theatre in Jacksonville's LaVilla neighborhood. Watch live using the video at top.

- Gary Mills

Kamala Harris meets with local leaders, teacher, activists

Vice President Harris met with the following local leaders, teachers and civil rights activists ahead of her speech.

• State Rep. Angie Nixon (D-FL-01)

• Terrie Brady, President, Duval Teachers United

• Ben Crump, Civil Rights Attorney

• Paul Barnes, Teacher, Samuel W. Wolfson High School

• Jennifer Jenkins, Brevard School Board Member (District 3)

• Jasmine Burney-Clark, Consulting Director, Equal Ground

• Sam Jenkins, Middle School History Teacher, DeLaura Middle School

• Parvez Ahmed, Chief of Diversity and Inclusion, Office of the Mayor, City of Jacksonville

• Kelly McBride Valdez, Self-employed Global Development Consultant

- Hanna Holthaus

White House: VP Kamala Harris is 'fighting for students, and leading the fight for fundamental freedoms'

The White House released the following statement ahead of Vice President Harris’ address at the Ritz Theatre and Museum:

“Today, Vice President Harris is traveling to Jacksonville, Florida as she fights to protect fundamental freedoms, specifically, the freedom to learn and teach America’s full and true history. You can watch the Vice President’s remarks live at 3:45 PM ET www.whitehouse.gov/live. 

The Vice President’s visit follows the Florida Board of Education’s newly approved standards for how Black history would be taught in schools. These standards include revisionist history and could lead to students being taught that enslaved people “developed skills” which could be used for their “personal benefit.”

This visit is a continuation of the Vice President fighting for students, and leading the fight for fundamental freedoms –and including the freedom for women to make decisions about their own bodies, the freedom to live safe from gun violence, the freedom to love who you love, and the freedom to vote.

Yesterday, in a speech to thousands of attendees at Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc.’s 56th national convention in Indianapolis, Vice President Harris directly called out these extremist attacks on learning and teaching history. While on the ground in Florida, she will convene students, parents, educators, civil rights leaders, and elected officials to address these attacks and highlight the coalitions required to protect fundamental freedoms.

This will be Vice President Harris’ 8th visit to Florida since being sworn in. The LaVilla neighborhood, the area the Vice President is visiting in downtown Jacksonville today, has a history that dates back to the Civil War era. The area had reportedly become a “safe haven” for newly freed Black residents because of its high concentration of Union soldiers during the war. Some referred to LaVilla as “the Harlem of the South.”

- Hanna Holthaus

Jacksonville Mayor Deegan speaks out on state's new African American curriculum

Jacksonville Mayor Donna Deegan, who due to a previous engagement will not accompany Vice President Kamala Harris to today's event, spoke to reporters on the Tarmac about the decision by the Florida Board of Education to approve a new curriculum for African American history that prompted Harris's visit to the city on Friday.

"I think it's hard to hear words like you hear on how we're educating our children and not feel compelled to come and say something," Deegan said. "If we're going to have unity, whether it's in our city, or our state or our nation, it has to start with respecting each other's humanity. That's the bottom line. And any insinuation that slavery was a benefit to Black people is offensive. It's offensive and it's wrong and we need to teach our children the truth about slavery. It was a savage, horrible thing. And unless we face our demons, I don't know how we move forward to have a better future. ... I'm grateful she's here to shine a light on it."

"I have to admit to being very surprised at this language. I never thought I'd see the day that we would see slavery cast as a benefit to Black people," Deegan continued. "I want our children to be educated about the truth of slavery, about the truth of our history. And that doesn't vilify anybody. That simply helps us to have a roadmap going forward in a way where we have a positive future. You can not ignore the past or pretend it didn't happen or revise it and make it go away. We have to face it and see each other's humanity. ... I don't know what the next steps are, but I think the first thing you have to do is shine a light on it. And that's what I believe the vice president is doing today."

- Gary Mills

Plane carrying Kamala Harris lands at JIA

Air Force Two, the plane carrying Vice President Kamala Harris, landed at Jacksonville International Airport at 2:15 p.m. Friday. Jacksonville Mayor Donna Deegan, dressed in a red pantsuit, greeted Harris as she deplaned the aircraft at 2:30 p.m. The pair talked briefly before Harris got into the SUV that will transport her to the historic Ritz Theatre, the site of her speaking engagement.

- Gary Mills

DeSantis, Florida GOP criticizes Harris's Jacksonville visit as 'stunt'

Before Kamala Harris landed in Jacksonville, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis criticized the vice president's trip to Florida, tweeting, in part: "Democrats like Kamala Harris have to lie about Florida's educational standards to cover for their agenda of indoctrinating students and pushing sexual topics onto children."

GOP Chairman Christian Ziegler wrote: “Instead of visiting the border and stopping the millions of illegal aliens and fentanyl pouring across our border, The Border Czar has hopped on the first flight down to Florida in order to lecture Floridian parents that their children belong to the government and the government has a right to indoctrinate and sexualize our children. The government overreach on parental rights has already been overwhelmingly rejected in Florida, and we hope the other 49 states will join with us by telling the Biden Administration to go pound sand.”

- Gary Mills

What is VP Harris expected to discuss in Jacksonville?

Press Secretary Kirsten Allen said on Twitter the vice president will “deliver remarks about the ongoing fight to protect fundamental freedoms, specifically, the freedom to learn and teach America’s full and true history.”

"We're fighting back against attempts to gaslight us, cover up our history, and rewrite the horrors of slavery," Harris said in a Tweet Thursday night.

Harris's tweet and trip to Jacksonville follow the Florida Board of Education’s decision Wednesday to approve a new curriculum for African American history that critics say omits key historical facts. Opponents have argued the curriculum doesn’t describe Florida’s role in slavery and leaves out important information about the oppression of African Americans.

The decision came after months of criticism for the board's decision to remove an Advanced Placement African American Studies class from Florida schools. The College Board altered the course, but Florida has still not yet approved it for the classroom.

- Steve Patterson

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Kamala Harris calls new Florida rules on Black history 'propaganda'