Retired FIU professor leads 10-block march to protest new Florida curriculum
Historian and activist Marvin Dunn led a "Teach No Lies" march Wednesday opposing Florida's new K-12 curricular requirements on Black history and how educators teach slavery lessons.
A retired Florida International University professor is still leading the fight against the state’s laws on Black history.
Historian and activist Marvin Dunn led a 10-block “Teach No Lies” march on Wednesday to oppose Florida’s new K-12 curricular requirements that address Black history and how educators teach slavery lessons, Axios reported.
“W​​e are not protesting our school board,” Dunn said. “This is about the state standards that we find so offensive.”
Even though many current area teachers are preparing for the start of the school year on Thursday, Dunn anticipated the attendance of hundreds of people, including Teamsters National Black Caucus members, who are in Miami for a conference.
The teaching of “how slaves developed skills which, in some instances, could be applied for their personal benefit” is mandated by new state social studies standards implemented this year for Florida middle school students. According to experts, the new curriculum amounts to erasing history and the wrongs of slavery.
Sunshine State students will also learn about the “resiliency” of African Americans and how people addressed slavery in Asian, European and African cultures.
Dunn, co-founder of the Miami Center for Racial Justice, said he organized Wednesday’s march because “education is going to hell” under Gov. Ron DeSantis’ tenure. He noted that the governor is subjecting Florida residents to “education gangsterism, ” which must be stopped.
“Our demand is: Don’t teach lies to our students,” Dunn told Axios. “We do not want our children taught lies about enslavement and about Black history.”
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