Gay, New York Rep. Ritchie Torres saw one of his tweets go viral yesterday. Torres’ target was Florida’s Ron DeSantis.
Torres claims DeSantis has followed up ‘Don’t Say Gay’ with a ‘Don’t Say Black’ schools policy.
The tweet comes after Florida rejected proposals for a new Advanced Placement (AP) African-American studies course.
The course has been devised by the College Board. The organization sets SAT tests and other programs. A pilot of the course is running in 60 schools nationwide. The College Board wrote to officials in Florida seeking approval to run the course in the state.
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However, a letter sent by the Florida Department of Education’s Office of Articulation to the College Board on January 12 said “as presented, the content of this course is inexplicably contrary to Florida law and significantly lacks educational value.”
Ouch.
According to Time, it’s the first new AP course since 2014. It spans 400 years of African American history.
On hearing the news, Torres tweeted, “SHOCKING: Ron DeSantis has BANNED the teaching of AP African American Studies in Florida. Florida has gone from Don’t Say Gay to Don’t Say Black.”
SHOCKING: Ron DeSantis has BANNED the teaching of AP African American Studies in Florida.
Florida has gone from Don’t Say Gay to Don’t Say Black.
— Ritchie Torres (@RitchieTorres) January 19, 2023
Torres’ tweet has had over 80k likes and thousands of replies. Twitter today added a context warning, with a link to a CBS news story about Florida blocking the introduction of the course in the state.
Related: New, gay Congressman Ritchie Torres had best response to MAGA protestor’s taunts
The Stop WOKE Act’
‘Don’t Say Gay’ was the nickname for Florida’s ‘Parental Rights In Education’ bill. It banned teachers from talking to younger kids about LGBTQ+ issues. DeSantis praised the legislation and was quick to sign it when it passed last year.
Last April, Florida lawmakers also passed further legislation. Called the “Stop WOKE Act”, it bans the teaching of Critical Race Theory in Florida schools. More specifically, it bans teaching anything that may cause students to “feel guilt, anguish or any form of psychological distress” due to their race, color, sex or national origin.
Presumably, the Florida Department of Education feels this new course falls foul of the “Stop WOKE Act”. However, its letter does not specify how the course breaks state law.
It did add, “In the future, should College Board be willing to come back to the table with lawful, historically accurate content, FDOE will always be willing to reopen the discussion.”
Commenting to CBS, a College Board spokesperson said, “Like all new AP courses, AP African American Studies is undergoing a rigorous, multi-year pilot phase, collecting feedback from teachers, students, scholars and policymakers. We look forward to bringing this rich and inspiring exploration of African-American history and culture to students across the country.”
Torres was one of the first out gay, Black lawmakers elected to Congress when he won his election in 2020. His tweet about DeSantis prompted rage from many right-wing figures.
This is an entire lie.
— Lavern Spicer 🇺🇸 (@lavern_spicer) January 19, 2023
However, Torres is far from being the only Democrat to slam Florida’s rejection of the new AP course.
State Senator Shevrin Jones, who is also gay, noted in a tweet yesterday that there are AP courses currently offered on European History, Japanese Language & Culture, German Language and Culture and Spanish, among others… adding “It’s crazy how AP African-American studies made the chopping block in FL. 🤔”
– AP European History
– AP Art History
– AP Japanese Language & Culture
– AP German Language & Culture
– AP Italian Language & Culture
– AP Spanish Language & CultureAre AP classes currently offered. It’s crazy how AP African-American studies made the chopping block in FL. 🤔
— Shevrin “Shev” Jones (@ShevrinJones) January 19, 2023
Related: Gay senator Shevrin Jones put his homophobic colleagues on blast and it was incredible
Covid Hermit
Once again confirming that Republicans only care about cis white Anglo-Saxon Protestant heteros.
Mister P
DeSantis knows that education is power.
He and the rest of the right wing nuts don’t want people getting too educated.
Especially the African American community.
50 50
I wish he destroyed him with one tweet. Unfortunately DeSantis probably doesn’t even know this tweet exists.
chakley
he’s in fact not destroyed, because you will keep him alive by continuing to write about him.
mujerado
Please cite one single serious problem that’s ever been solved by ignoring it. Writing about problems is the only way people can be made aware of a problem that doesn’t affect them directly. I’m sure Ron DeSantis or any other politician would love it if their opponents all ignored them.
mdrguy1
Queerty is such a joke. They cover Tweets like they are events that move mountains. So and so “shatters” someone, “destroy” someone, “silences” someone. No, for the most part, these Tweets are NOT news; they are personal rants that do NOTHING to change the fact that public policy in FL, as vile as it may be, is marching forward and destroying lives. And this fascist Trump-er De Santis is marching toward a White House run and could well win. So no, Queerty, no one was “destroyed” by the f-ing Tweet.
dinard38
Queerty is not the only media outlet that does this. Left leaning media like TYT, Brian Cohen, Occupy Democrats, Now Politics, etc. it is really irritating!! As you stated, it’s always some “left” leaning person “destroying” some right wing person on some social media platform like Twitter. And the “destroy” be weak af.
Fahd
DeSantis is a divider, not a uniter. Seems like the “play to the base to get out the vote” strategy. Might work for Florida, but I can’t see him stealing Tru*mp’s voters in the primaries or “god forbid” winning the presidency with this sh*t.
PaulieB
This country better hope to God we have a Republican leader soon or the US will crash and burn before 2024. Most of our youth in America today can’t tell you anything about our government, how many states we have, when the Civil War began and ended or who the 2nd or 3rd US president was. The last thing worrying me is the risk they are going to get too educated. What a joke.
PaulieB
couldn’t agree with you more Paulie B.
Mack
ROFLMFAO. Just another troll and a stupid one who supports what he said himself.
James
GET LOST TROLL.
PaulieB
African Americans would do well learning about the magnificent contributions they have made for the past 200 years rather than let the chip they carry on their shoulder be the only reason why they stand tall.
PaulieB
couldn’t agree with you more Paulie B.
JPB
Is it fun talking to yourself Paulie B?
Pier
Your KKK is showing
Kangol2
You’re sounding both racist and deranged, PaulieB!
Get the chip off your shoulder, PaulieB!
You don’t have to pat yourself on the back, PaulieB!
PrinceofPrussia
So, Ron DuhSantis, Governor of Floriduh, what in the course is historically INaccurate? Hmm? We’re waiting…
James
Ron De Satanis THE NEW ADOLPH HITLER.
Kangol2
Adolf, but point taken.
Brian
Florida was the first state to have African slaves (a fact that’s weirdly left out of “The 1619 Project.”) Spaniards brought African slaves here first, in the late 1500s. Of all states, Florida should definitely be teaching this.
Kangol2
Yes and Massachusetts was the first one among the British colonies to legalize slavery. Florida’s students probably won’t learn either under Governor DeFascist’s right-wing rule, though!
Pier
I know I was shooked and all that.
Ludde
It seems Floridan lawmakers remind more of those in the Duma in Moscow.
Kangol2
Where are all of the free speech warriors on the right when you need them? Why aren’t they calling out yet more DeFascist “cancel culture” with his banning and limiting of speech? On top of which, how is this legal, given that the Florida Constitution says this:
“SECTION 4.Freedom of speech and press.—Every person may speak, write and publish sentiments on all subjects but shall be responsible for the abuse of that right. No law shall be passed to restrain or abridge the liberty of speech or of the press. In all criminal prosecutions and civil actions for defamation the truth may be given in evidence. If the matter charged as defamatory is true and was published with good motives, the party shall be acquitted or exonerated.”
Just so it’s clear: “NO LAW SHALL BE PASSED TO RESTRAIN THE LIBERTY OF SPEECH OR OF THE PRESS.”
DeFascist’s new laws are directly contravening the Florida Constitution. Why is no one, particularly on the Constitution-loving “right,” broaching this basic fact?
Saskatchewan
The view from way up here in the heartland sees American politics to be most entertaining.
Just don’t let your bias behavior move into the bedroom. Could get very cold at night.
[email protected]
Just a far fetched notion…
Anyone think Desantis’ issue with life is “Small Penis Syndrom”
humble charlie
de santis/santos is a meathead and so he appeals to half of america, the meatheads of america who have a rump-roast between their ears.
Jimmynj
Ritchie Torres is my hero. I wished I lived in his district so I could vote for him for every office he ran for…. Keep slaying them, Ritchie….
Steve
I don’t know why anyone finds this shocking at all unless your history education is so vacuous that you didn’t study the years leading up to Hitler’s rise to power and his subsequent holocaust against: people of color, gay people, and non-Christians (do you think he wouldn’t have been shipping off Muslims too if there had been a lot of Muslims in Germany at the time??? — no!). He needed an enemy within the state to galvanize the people to put him in power to achieve his own personal goals.
DeSantis has just borrowed this page of history. Is it fair to compare DeSantis to Hitler? Tell me how these two differ in their plans and achievements? And left to take power of the whole country? No way that the US doesn’t quickly fall down the same dangerous path. We already see a new SCOTUS that thinks, for some unknown reason, that they are better at interpreting the Constitution than their predecessors and precedent is meaningless. Laws limiting the rights of women are passing all over the country. Anti-critical race theory legislation is being passed by fear mongering not by reality and stoked by the KKK turned NRA turned anti-PC turned anti-woke people. No matter how they want to label themselves, they want America to go back to 1950 white bread straight Christian picture they saw on tv.
And don’t think for a minute that if you’re not white bread, but not in their cross-hairs for the moment you are safe or exempt. They are coming for everyone who isn’t white bread.
GreekKeys
So who’s the governor of Florida now? What? DeSantis is? So… wait. He wasn’t destroyed? Just more “yaas queen-swish-swish-snap!” fake bravado hyperbole? Oh… Well, the tweet was brutal. Is he in the hospital? No? So an entire article about a tweet referencing a law that doesn’t exist, ultimately having no effect on anything followed by a pile of screenshot of other people’s tweets?
Way to produce content, queerty!