Florida education commissioner skips forum on criticized Black history standards

Source: Associated Press

Florida education commissioner skips forum on criticized Black history standards

BY DANIEL KOZIN
Updated 9:32 PM EDT, August 10, 2023

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (AP) — Hundreds of lawmakers, teachers, school board members and parents crowded into a South Florida church Thursday evening for a forum on Florida’s new standards for teaching Black history, which have drawn harsh criticism for requiring teachers to instruct middle-school students that enslaved people “developed skills which, in some instances, could be applied for their personal benefit.”

But one person who wasn’t in attendance was Florida Education Commissioner Manny Diaz — the man responsible for overseeing the standards.

The former area high school teacher had previously agreed to attend, according to organizers. His participation was advertised on fliers publicizing the event, which was sponsored by Democratic Florida Sen. Shevrin Jones. A chair even was set up on the podium for him with a placard bearing his name.

Diaz, a former Florida lawmaker who was appointed commissioner last year by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis, said on social media that “there was nothing sudden” about his inability to attend the town hall meeting at Antioch Baptist Church in Miami Gardens, where two-thirds of residents are Black, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

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Read more: https://apnews.com/article/desantis-florida-black-history-race-education-7a93dced682d8538e8fb250aff967fbe