After reading the African American Strand of Florida’s new American History Curriculum I can only ascertain one essential thing why do such significant gaps occur between white and Black Americans? Because this history design or retelling bolsters the myth of American Exceptionalism as it applies to our ancestors and their descendants. It whitewashes a historical story that totally ignores the white plantation owners whipping machines that brutalized in order to induce and increase our enslaved ancestors’ productivity.
It fails to mention anything related to the historical economic deprivation caused by the broken promises of Black Reconstruction that is still apparent in 2023. In addition, although it does note that some of our ancestors acquired skills that benefited them personally it doesn’t or fails to state how those acquired skills benefited the white enslavers much more economically. There is no mention of the movement of reparations in our communities, nor does the curriculum strand mention how government policies federal, state, and local restricted the economic wealth-building tools available to our ancestors.
It fails miserably in categorizing the acts of white mob violence that created the nadir of our ancestors’ lives from 1890-1940. I can only say that the Florida African American History K-12 Strand was intended and designed to provide a vision of our ancestors’ history that would allow a feel-good experience rather than a real true-to-life experience for the students in the State of Florida.