NAACP town hall addresses education changes with DeSantis’s new laws

ORLANDO, Fla. — The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and teachers are pushing back against new education laws in Florida classrooms.

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Dozens of young and older adults marched together to let others know they refused to accept the recent changes to Florida education.

The American Federation of Teachers joined the NAACP’s Florida State Conference for a town hall on Saturday.

This action is in response to Gov. Ron DeSantis signing bills into law for what he calls an effort to protect students from woke indoctrination.

“As opposed to being a state where wokeness went to die, it turned into the state where common sense went to die,” said Leon Russell, NAACP National Board of Directors Chair.

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The group passed out thousands of books to students who do not have access in classrooms.

The restrictions have been a controversial topic since Florida lawmakers passed the legislation.

Some teachers who were at the town hall said it was unfair.

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“It’s quite disturbing,” said Harold Ford, an elementary school teacher. “Slaves weren’t allowed to read, and now children aren’t allowed to read about slaves.”

DeSantis said that while critical race theory is banned, many other things concerning the bans are untrue.

He held a meeting earlier this month to set the record straight.

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DeSantis said students learn about the 1920 Ocoee election day riots, slavery, the Civil War and Jim Crow laws.

But the NAACP said they believe the bills that have passed are done out of malice, and they plan to keep pushing back until they can stop it.

“This is not the time to agonize but organize,” Russell said.

The NAACP donated 2,500 books as part of a partnership with the AFT to give out 10,000 books, many banned, to black communities across the state.

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