VP Kamala Harris says she won’t meet with DeSantis about African American history standards

ORLANDO, Fla. — Vice President Kamala Harris publicly responded to a letter from Gov. Ron DeSantis in a speech in Orlando on Tuesday.

Harris said she will not be meeting with Governor Ron DeSantis to discuss Florida’s new African American History standards. She said meeting with DeSantis would “legitimize” the debate she called “unnecessary.”

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“There’s no roundtable. There’s no lecture, no invitation, we will not accept to debate an undeniable fact. There were no redeeming qualities of slavery,” Harris said to a crowd of hundreds applauding her.

Amidst a political battle with Florida’s governor, Harris spoke at the 20th Quadrennial Convention of Women’s Missionary Society of the African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church at the Orange County Convention Center.

Read: Harris says Florida rules on Black history pushed by DeSantis are ‘propaganda’

Tuesday’s speech was a continuation of the political battle between the governor and vice president.

Less than two weeks ago, the vice president was in Jacksonville where she called the standards “propaganda.”

“They insult us in an attempt to gaslight us in an attempt to divide and distract our nation with unnecessary debates,” Harris said in the speech about Florida’s new history standards.

Read: Vice President Kamala Harris matches record for tiebreaking votes in Senate

In a letter sent Monday, the governor invited Harris to meet with him in Tallahassee along with a member of the African American History Standards work group, Dr. William Allen. The invite was to discuss the standards, including the controversial line DeSantis is standing by about how “slaves developed skills which, in some instances, could be applied for their personal benefit.”

DeSantis claimed in the letter that Florida is the number one state in the nation for education because the state returned to the fundamentals of teaching, eliminating diversity, equity and inclusion in school administrations and rooted out “Critical Race Theory” from Florida’s classrooms.

Read: Here’s who is behind Florida’s new Black history education standards

“So, let’s have the debate. Let’s dispense with narratives. We’re ready to roll,” DeSantis said in a campaign stop in New Hampshire Tuesday morning.

The vice president’s message Tuesday centered on how faith has guided African Americans through times of struggle.

“Faith has the power to shine a light on those living in darkness to guide our feet in the path of peace. In moments of uncertainty and confusion, when the way is not clear, it is faith that guides us forward,” Harris said.

Video: Vice President Kamala Harris plans to travel to Orlando on Tuesday Vice President Kamala Harris is preparing to travel to Orlando. (WFTV)

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Through the years In this June 18, 2004, file photo San Francisco District Attorney Kamala Harris poses for a portrait in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez, File)

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