(New York Post) The NAACP issued a travel advisory discouraging tourists from visiting Florida to protest Gov. Ron DeSantis’ policies, which the civil rights group claim are “hostile to black Americans” — just days before he’s expected to announce his candidacy for president.
“On a seeming quest to silence African-American voices, the Governor and the State of Florida have shown that African Americans are not welcome in the State of Florida,” the stunning travel advisory released Saturday said.
“Due to this sustained, blatant, relentless and systemic attack on democracy and civil rights, the NAACP hereby issues a travel advisory to African Americans, and other people of color regarding the hostility towards African Americans in Florida,” the group added.
The statement cited several of DeSantis’s controversial policies, including a law he approved last Monday banning colleges from spending public funds on diversity, equity and inclusion efforts.
The Florida governor also signed the Stop WOKE Act, curbing how schools can discuss race during required training or instruction, and blocked an Advanced Placement African American Studies course in the state’s public schools because he said it lacked “educational value.”
The NAACP issued a travel advisory discouraging tourists from visiting Florida.Getty Images/iStockphoto
NAACP President and CEO Derrick Johnson says Gov. Ron DeSantis’ policies are “hostile to black Americans.”Getty Images
“Let me be clear — failing to teach an accurate representation of the horrors and inequalities that Black Americans have faced and continue to face is a disservice to students and a dereliction of duty to all,” National Association for the Advancement of Colored People President and CEO Derrick Johnson said in a statement.
“Under the leadership of Governor Desantis, the state of Florida has become hostile to Black Americans and in direct conflict with the democratic ideals that our union was founded upon,” Johnson added.
He urged people to join the NAACP’s “battle for the soul of our nation.”
The group had noted that black students comprise 23% of Florida’s public school population.
“Before traveling to Florida, please understand that the state of Florida devalues and marginalizes the contributions of, and the challenges faced by African Americans and other communities of color,” the advisory says.
