March 12, 2024
Last year the NAACP issued a “travel advisory” warning blacks that Florida was a “hate state” hostile to people of color. This was in response to Ron DeSantis’ rejection of the AP course on black history. That course was more one of political and social indoctrination to the views of the left than one of history with sections on queer blacks in history, Critical Race Theory and the 1619 Project’s re-writing of American history. DeSantis commissioned a group of scholars to write a more accurate rendering of history. Those who jumped on the anti-DeSantis bandwagon said that he was erasing black history when he fact they were the ones who denigrated black accomplishments in the face of the vestiges of slavery and Jim Crow.
Now the NAACP has struck again urging black athletes not to go to Florida colleges and universities in response to the state eliminating DEI staff and DEI programs from its schools. The president of the NAACP (who is from Mississippi) and its chairman (who lives in Tampa) in a letter to the president of the NCAA said “While it is our duty to spread awareness and encourage action around these egregious assaults, we also recognize that protest can come at a price. The sad reality is, for many Black student- athletes, collegiate sports may be their sole opportunity at achieving the upward mobility necessary to propel them into their rightful places in society.” “Florida’s rampant anti-Black policies are a direct threat to the advancement of our young people and their ability to compete in a global economy,” the NAACP’s president said in a statement. “Diversity, equity, and inclusion are paramount (to) ensuring equitable and effective educational outcomes.” “The value Black and other college athletes bring to large universities is unmatched. If these institutions are unable to completely invest in those athletes, it’s time they take their talents elsewhere.” Emmitt Smith, one of the University of Florida’s most notable alumni opined “We need diverse thinking and backgrounds to enhance our University and the DEI department is necessary to accomplish those goals.”
Yet neither the NAACP or Smith did not show how the elimination of DEI would negatively impact the education of black students and in particular black athletes. Moreover, there is no evidence that the existence of DEI has furthered the academic achievement of black students. But evidence does not matter. I presume that the NAACP president wants the five star Florida athletes to also shun the HBCUs in the state that have athletic programs. I am waiting to hear the protests coming from the coaches at Florida A&M and Bethune-Cookman. Perhaps he is hoping that those athletes will come to the more welcoming and inclusive state of Mississippi. I suggest that they come instead to the University of Georgia, Ohio State University and of course to the University of Tennessee.
haroldblackphd.com 