Florida college cancels civil rights lesson after student complaint
An Eastern Florida State College student on the Cocoa campus reported becoming uncomfortable during Josh Humphries' March 9 U.S. Government class, causing Humphries to cancel it.
A Florida college professor canceled class earlier this month after his teaching on civil rights reportedly disturbed a student.
An Eastern Florida State College student on the Cocoa campus reported becoming uncomfortable during Josh Humphries’ March 9 civil rights lesson, causing Humphries to cancel the U.S. Government class he was leading, WESH reports.
“To avoid a disruptive situation, Mr. Humphries decided to cancel class early,” said John J. Glisch, associate vice president at Eastern Florida State College. Glisch said Humphries thought that was a “prudent move.”
The circumstances surrounding the lesson and the student’s identity are unknown.
Cocoa High School dual student Jacob Dailey, 15 — who arrived for the class at EFSC just as it was being canceled — told WESH it was a “general” discussion on civil rights, yet led to Humphries’ early dismissal of about 20 students. “I think that there could have been a better method of handling it, but the teacher’s concerns were valid, I’d say,” he said, noting that he was disappointed about missing the class.
The teen’s father, Cocoa High School educator Matt Dailey, said he’s “heard good things” about Humphries, while Glisch said he’s “an excellent educator” who “regularly receives high grades” in surveys of student satisfaction.
The class cancellation comes nearly a year after Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed the Stop WOKE Act.
According to Florida state Sen. Bobby Powell, the law “essentially prohibits instruction on race relations or diversity that imply a person’s status as either privileged or oppressed is necessarily determined by his or her race, color, national origin, or sex.”
Since signing the bill, DeSantis has blocked an AP African American studies course, citing a lack of “significance.” Florida schools also pulled several books from shelves that cover topics such as racism and discrimination.
This is not the first time a lesson was scrapped in the state. In January 2022, J. Michael Butler, a history professor at Flagler College in St. Augustine, received an email that his lesson, “The Long Civil Rights Movement,” was canceled, NBC News reports. The lecture was for Osceola County School District teachers.
“There’s a climate of fear, an atmosphere created by Gov. Ron DeSantis, that has blurred the lines between scared and opportunistic,” Butler told NBC News in a phone interview.
Although college leadership is “standing behind” Humphries, WESH stated there are currently no reports on how or when his U.S. Government class will resume.
According to Glisch, Humphries is “working with his supervisors on alternative ways to handle such potential problems” so the class can resume.
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