The “Teach No Lies” protest started at Booker T. Washington High School and ended at Miami-Dade School Board Headquarters
Florida’s controversial Black history teaching standards, which requires teachers to instruct middle school students that enslaved Africans “developed skills which, in some instances, could be applied for their personal benefit,” is causing outrage amongst community members in Miami-Dade County.
In case you missed it, on Wednesday, August 16th, 50 teachers, students and parents marched a mile from Booker T. Washington High School in Miami to demonstrate in front of the School Board headquarters, where they were greeted by another 50 protestors. According to reports made by NBC News, protestors could be heard making their way through the Historic Overtown neighborhood chanting “What do we want? Truth. When do we want it? Now. What if we don’t get it? Shut it down!”
“These new state standards that DeSantis has come up with will not be tolerated in our schools. We will not let our children be taught that slaves benefited from their slavery. That’s a lie,” march organizer Marvin Dunn, a professor emeritus of psychology at Florida International University, told the crowd, according to reports made by the Associated Press.
While protestors demonstrated outside the School Board headquarters, a meeting took place inside where Florida’s teaching standards still stood as a hot topic, even having some board members weigh in.
“African American History is American history, it’s about all of us,” school board member Dr. Steve Gallon said according to Local 10 News. “It’s about how we stand in solidarity.”
Following the protest, local organizations like Florida Rising are urging the community to join their team and attend upcoming events that fight to protect Florida education. If you’re interested in getting involved, visit https://floridarising.org/events/.
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