DeSantis Says Some Black People Benefited From Slavery Defending Florida Curriculum Change

Last week, Florida’s Department of Education approved a new state curriculum for the African-American Studies program that teaches students how black people “personally benefited” from some skills that they learned while being subjected to slavery.

In a press conference, Gov. Ron DeSantis said, “They’re probably going to show that some of the folks that eventually parlayed, you know, being a blacksmith into doing things later in life.”

DeSantis tells me FL's new Black history standards are "rooted in whatever is factual," when I asked him his thoughts on middle school instruction on "how slaves developed skills which, in some instances, could be applied for their personal benefit" – pic.twitter.com/Ae5YVYGIOP

— Kit Maher (@KitMaherCNN) July 22, 2023

DeSantis later added that he was not involved in the changes, but he defended the curriculum as an academic decision rather than a political one.

Fox News host Jesse Watters supported DeSantis, saying, “No one is arguing slaves benefited from slavery… They are teaching how black people develop skills during slavery in some instances that can be applied for their own personal benefit.”

Watters: No one is arguing slaves benefited from slavery. No one is saying that. It is not true. They are teaching how black people develop skills during slavery in some instances that can be applied for their own personal benefit pic.twitter.com/Of7Jl9vgJU

— Acyn (@Acyn) July 22, 2023

This follows the “Stop WOKE Act,” which DeSantis signed in 2022. The law served as a response to critical race theory, which explores how the United States’ history of discrimination and racism continues to affect the country now, by banning the teaching of material that makes students feel “shamed because of their race.”

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DeSantis, who has received criticism for the new curriculum, is currently trailing in the polls against former president Donald Trump for the Republican nomination. The Florida governor has based his campaign against what he refers to as “radical liberal policies” of the Democratic Party.