White House Press Secretary Karine Jean Pierre said that Florida Governor Ron DeSantis wants to “block” the study of Black Americans after his administration rejected the College Board’s Advanced Placement African American Studies course.
Jean Pierre made the comments during a White House Press briefing on Friday, calling the move by the DeSantis administration “incomprehensible.”
“If you think about the study of Black Americans, that is what he wants to block,” Jean Pierre said. “These types of actions aren’t new. They are not new from what we’re seeing, especially from Florida. Sadly, Florida currently bans teachers from talking about who they are and who they love.”
“They didn’t block AP European history. They didn’t block our music history. They didn’t block our art history. But the state chooses to block a course that is meant for high achieving high school students to learn about their history of arts and culture. It is incomprehensible,” she added.
Bryan Griffin, DeSantis’ press secretary, said in a statement that the Florida Department of Education rejected the course because it “lacks educational value and historical accuracy.”
“As submitted, the course is a vehicle for a political agenda and leaves large, ambiguous gaps that can be filled with additional ideological material, which we will not allow. As Governor DeSantis has stated, our classrooms will be a place for education, not indoctrination,” the spokesperson said.
Griffin told Fox News Digital that Jean Pierre’s comments are “demonstrably incorrect.”
“The study of African American history is not only permitted in Florida under Governor Ron DeSantis but required by law. In fact, the teaching of African American History has been expanded in Florida since Governor Ron DeSantis took office.,” Griffin said.
Griffin pointed to a Florida statute which requires the teaching of African American history K-12 education throughout the state. He also provided a list of concerns that the state’s department of education found within the course, which includes the “Reparations Movement,” “Movements for Black Lives,” and “Black Queer Studies.”
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