Is the Outrage Over Florida's Social Studies Standards on African American History Justified?

I was curious to see how bad the 2023 Florida Social Studies Standards are.

People can read the Standards for themselves.  Here they are: https://www.fldoe.org/core/fileparse.php/20653/urlt/6-4.pdf

To my surprise the standards generally are not bad, and much of the document is pretty good.

 

Here is the language that has created the furor:

 

“Examine the various duties and trades performed by slaves (e.g., agricultural work, painting, carpentry, tailoring, domestic service, blacksmithing, transportation).

Benchmark Clarifications: Clarification 1: Instruction includes how slaves developed skills which, in some instances, could be applied for their personal benefit.”

 

This is extremely offensive, particularly since it implies that enslaved people, but for their enslavement, would not have had useful and marketable skills. 

 

The reality, as I understand it, is that people kidnapped from Africa already had skills they developed living in the communities into which they were born as free people, and many of them (if they lived long enough to do so) could pass along such skills to those born in America. This omission further implies that the kidnapped people were uncivilized savages who had reason to be grateful to their oppressors.

 

So the outrage – even if based on a single passage in the standards – is completely justified.

If Governor DeSantis were a serious elected official, he would have taken a half-hour to review the standards, would have seen the reason for the furor, and would have, at minimum, demanded that the omission I just noted be corrected.  But he is not a serious person, and his reaction and defense is just another reason that, just like the front-runner he seeks to replace as his Party's presidential standard bearer, he is not fit for the Presidency.

Background Materials Updated Oct. 7, 2023

The purpose of this blog post, entitled “Background Materials” is to provide information for those of us who may be new or relatively new to organizing generally, or who may not be aware of the particulars of the history of LGBTQ+ progress in the public schools over the last two decades.  I hope you will find it useful.

David

 

 

To get a full context of the history leading up to the present battles, I suggest reading these two pieces these two Background Pieces, which also include lessons learned from the earlier struggles.  

 

Background: 2002-2015, with Epilogue covering 2015 thru Winter 2023

Curriculum Victory in Montgomery County, MD: A Case Study and Handbook for Action (Revised edition with Epilogue), from the Metro DC Chapter of PFLAG

https://static1.squarespace.com/static/64067f4d4c57f005dc417877/t/6408b6be67ea2851d49fd3c5/1678292670865/Curriculum+Victory+in+Montgomery+County-vf-2023.docx.pdf

 

More Background, 2002-2010: Guest Posts on Human Rights Campaign’s National Blog, September 2010

https://davidfishback.blogspot.com/2023/02/human-rights-campaign-guest-post-back.html

At the end of this blogpost, please find an excerpt from the 2010 and 2015 documents that is still salient today. 

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Regarding earlier litigation, these posts should be useful.

 

2022 Protecting Transgender and Gender Non-Conforming Students: Major Court Victory Protecting Transgender and Gender Non-Conforming Students https://davidfishback.blogspot.com/2022/08/protecting-transgender-and-gender-non.html

  (Note:  Plaintiffs appealed this decision to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, which dismissed the appeal on standing grounds. See https://moco360.media/2023/08/15/court-upholds-dismissal-of-lawsuit-challenging-mcps-gender-identity-guidelines/)

 

2020 What the Supreme Court’s Bostock decision means for the ACA – and what the dissents signal for progress 

https://davidfishback.blogspot.com/2020/07/what-supreme-courts-bostock-decision.html  (My hope at the end of this piece may have been too optimistic, but things are very fluid right now.)

 

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Here are relevant materials from 2023. 

October 7, 2023, MoCo education can't be decided by conservative activitist: Assault on inclusive instruction is a threat that can no longer be ignored,  from MoCo369 by Rebekah Kuschmider  https://moco360.media/2023/10/07/opinion-moco-education-cant-be-decided-by-conservative-activists/?fbclid=IwAR0-zpbRy9JYDLAcRwck7FiYDxS5yvMUp8q3QRqDg2UEq3PQxAnoGIW39k0

August 24, 2023, MoCo360 report on district court denial of Mahmoud plaintiffs motion for preliminary injunction

https://moco360.media/2023/08/24/no-injunction-issued-in-mcps-lgbtq-books-lawsuit/

                          District Court decision denying preliminary injunction

https://moco360.media/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/JUDGES-RULING.pdf  (Note:  Plaintiffs filed an emergency appeal of the district court's denial, which is scheduled to be fully briefed in the U.S. Court of Appeals by Oct 30, 2023.

August 4, 2023, MoCo LGBTQ Opt-Out Debate Must Focus on Facts, Not Misrepresentations, from MoCo360   https://moco360.media/2023/08/04/moco-lgbtq-opt-out-debate-must-focus-on-facts/   

July 11, 2023, We Can't Opt-Out of Diversity in Our Schools and Communities, from Maryland Matters

https://www.marylandmatters.org/2023/07/11/commentary-we-cant-opt-out-of-diversity-in-our-schools-and-communities/

July 1, 2023, The Facts About the Controversy Over MCPS Opt-Out Policy https://davidfishback.blogspot.com/2023/06/the-facts-about-controversy-over-mcps.html

June 24, 2023, Letter of Support from the Coalition for Inclusive Schools and Communities (with signers)

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfUBMCnUSsaRm1kFl5u-z1dfrOxGMYERIqoNJ8c9IMsvs9tgw/viewform

March 10, 2023 Presentation at Bet Mishpachah

 https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=123341783905221&ref=sharing

 

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Inasmuch as it has become clear that the 2023 controversy will likely be an issue in the 2024 Board of Education Elections, these resources from past elections should be useful.

 

BOARD OF EDUCATION ELECTIONS (2022, 2020, 2018, 2010)

 

2022 BOE Election Materials

https://davidfishback.blogspot.com/2022/10/observation-on-last-night-board-of.html

https://davidfishback.blogspot.com/2022/10/board-of-education-and-other.html (Endorsements)

https://davidfishback.blogspot.com/2022/09/two-problematic-montgomery-county-md.html (Esther Wells’ candidacy)

https://davidfishback.blogspot.com/2022/05/metro-dc-pflag-montgomery-county_33.html (Metro DC PFLAG questionnaires)

 

August 10 – Related blog on the County Executive Race:  https://davidfishback.blogspot.com/2022/08/republican-nominee-for-county-executive.html

 

2020 BOE Election Materials

 

December 31 Follow up to Fomenting Fear and Division in Montgomery County (May 2020)

https://davidfishback.blogspot.com/2020/12/follow-up-to-fomenting-fear-and.html

 

May 23, 2020 My perspectives on the 2020 Montgomery County Board of Education election primary

https://davidfishback.blogspot.com/2020/05/my-perspectives-on-2020-montgomery.html

 

May 3, 2020 Fomenting Fear and Division in Montgomery County, from Maryland Matters,

https://www.marylandmatters.org/2020/05/01/opinion-fomenting-fear-and-division-in-montgomery-county/

 

March 22, 2020 Metro DC PFLAG Questionnaire Responses from BOE Primary Election Candidates.

https://davidfishback.blogspot.com/2020/03/metro-dc-pflag-montgomery-county-at_22.html (At-Large answers, with links to the District Candidates’ answers)

 

2018 BOE Election Materials (and reference to 2010)

 

“At the outset, I should note that for the last several BOE election cycles, my principal concern was how the candidates felt about LGBTQ issues in the Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS).  In the last few years, the principal policy battles have been definitively won.  In recent cycles we have had candidates who opposed the progress with have made in this area, but all have been defeated. In 2010, there was a “stealth” candidate who initially tried to hide her history of anti-LGBTQ advocacy; once her activities were made public, her star faded, and she was defeated.  This year the Metro DC Chapter of PFLAG sent out short questionnaires to all the candidates to get them on record.  All but two candidates responded, and all who responded indicated support for the progress we have made.  The questions and answers may be found here here and here.

  [NOTE: For a fuller discussion of the 2010 BOE election, and more hyperlinks, see p. 15 of Curriculum Victory in Montgomery County.]

 

https://davidfishback.blogspot.com/2018/06/2018-primary-endorsements-part-two.html

 

http://davidfishback.blogspot.com/2018/05/metro-dc-pflag-montgomery-county-at.html (At-Large answers, with links to the District Candidates’ answers)

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Communicating with students and others about how we have their backs and speaking and writing in the public square – including when there is not an immediate crisis -- is important Here are some examples that received wide distribution during the last Administration.  

Monday, September 2, 2019

Resources: Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Matters in the Montgomery County (MD) Public Schools (2019)

https://davidfishback.blogspot.com/2019/09/resources-sexual-orientation-and-gender.html

 

Monday, May 13, 2019

Maryland PFLAG Chapters' Letter to Gov. Larry Hogan Urging Action to Protect Transgender Maryland National Guard Service Members and Recruits

https://davidfishback.blogspot.com/2019/05/maryland-pflag-chapters-letter-to-gov.html

 

Friday, April 12, 2019

Thoughts on the current exchanges between Pete Buttigieg and Mike Pence https://davidfishback.blogspot.com/2019/04/thoughts-on-current-exchanges-between.html

(this is not so much about Buttigieg and Pence as about exchanges I had with leaders of the Opposition in Montgomery County in 2004)

 

Monday, April 16, 2018

Thank you note to the Montgomery County Board of Education (re the naming of a new elementary school after Bayard Rustin

https://davidfishback.blogspot.com/2018/04/thank-you-note-to-montgomery-county.html

 

March 29, 2018

Thank you letter to Montgomery County Board of Education regarding its Gender Identity Guidelines

https://davidfishback.blogspot.com/2018/03/temple-emanuel-brit-olam-letter-to-mcps.html

Thursday, February 8, 2018

Testimony on HB 13 in the Maryland House of Delegates http://davidfishback.blogspot.com/2018/02/testimony-on-hb-13-in-maryland-house-of.html

(including letter published in the Washington Times)

 

Tuesday, November 21, 2017

Transgender Day of Remembrance Interfaith Service and the Spiritual Journey of a Fine Woman

http://davidfishback.blogspot.com/2017/11/transgender-day-of-remembrance.html

 

Friday, October 13, 2017

President Trump speaks to hate group

https://davidfishback.blogspot.com/2017/10/president-trump-speaks-to-hate-group.html

 

Sunday, October 8, 2017

Presentation at the Communities United Against Hate School Conference, October 7, 2017

http://davidfishback.blogspot.com/2017/10/presentation-at-cuah-school-conference.html

 

Monday, March 27, 2017

Recap and Resources: Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Matters in the Montgomery County Public Schools

https://davidfishback.blogspot.com/2017/03/recap-and-resources-sexual-orientation.html

 

Wednesday, February 22, 2017

TRANSGENDER STUDENTS IN MONTGOMERY COUNTY: YOUR RIGHTS IN MCPS HAVE NOT CHANGED.

https://davidfishback.blogspot.com/2017/02/transgender-students-in-montgomery.html

 

Thursday, January 12, 2017

"We are enraged, but engaged": Views from the PFLAG/LGBT Community in the face of the incoming Trump Administration

http://davidfishback.blogspot.com/2017/01/we-are-enraged-but-engaged-views-from.html

 

Sunday, December 4, 2016

Life Goes On: Advocacy for LGBTQ Youth

https://davidfishback.blogspot.com/2016/12/life-goes-on-advocacy-for-lgbtq-youth.html

Post-Script:  The blogposts noted here typically have received hundreds of hits, going as high as more than 3,300 hits.  So when you have a good blogpost and distribute it, it can lead to large numbers of people reading them, and thus having an impact.

Most of this excerpt from the 2010 and 2015 documents is still salient today:

1. As more LGBT people come out, more straight people are willing to talk about their LGBT relatives, friends, co-workers, and acquaintances. Once you begin real conversations about the challenges that society poses for gay people – whether with school officials, reporters or members of the general public – more people will begin to talk about their LGBT relatives, friends, co-workers, and acquaintances. As this happens, more LGBT people may be more likely to come out. Always be ready to tell your stories. Personal stories of real people, real pain, and real struggle often do as much or more than abstract academic conclusions to help people understand the importance of action. This openness breaks down the walls that have kept people from confronting the issues. Once those walls break down, progress can be swifter. 

2. School officials – both elected and non-elected – need information, not just conclusions. This is important because when being asked to take steps in directions previously not taken, and where there may be pushback from others living in the school district, officials need to know not just the general conclusions about sexual orientation, but also the fact that those conclusions are supported by the mainstream medical and mental health care community. This will assist those who already agree with us, and can bring along those who may not have thought about the issue enough to be ready to take the needed steps. And, in the context of the emerging understandings about sexual orientation and gender identity, such information may help bring along those who once had been in the opposition. 

3. Identify allies within school system. There may well be many teachers, guidance counselors, administrators, and others who will be supportive of your efforts. They may be able to provide insights into the ins and out of your school system. But, depending on the nature of the bureaucratic culture of a particular school system, they may or may not be able to be public allies. Of course, if schools have Gay/Straight Alliances (now more popularly known as Gender and Sexuality Alliances (GSAs), the GSA sponsors, and the students themselves, may be great partners. 

4. Identify and work with allies outside the school system. Don’t think you have to go it alone. Find other groups – both governmental and non-governmental – who may be supportive. They may be part of the process of figuring out how best to proceed, including entrée to decision-makers. They may also be invaluable in creating an atmosphere of support in the community-at-large. 

5. The media needs to be well informed. In the Montgomery County situation, advocates educated local reporters about the reality of where the mainstream health care professional associations stood, and why they held those positions. We did this not just at the time of the onset of a big story, but, whenever possible, in advance of such events. By sufficiently educating reporters in advance – just like we did for school officials and the public at large – the reporters were more able to present balanced articles, rather than simply writing on the fly. 

6. Find forums in which to present your views and your evidence. Letters to the editor, op-ed pieces, and presentations on broadcast media are important. Find those outlets and use them. Always be prepared to make the best case for your position. Do not limit your advocacy to matters specifically related to curriculum. We need to foster a general atmosphere of understanding; such an atmosphere helps not only school system efforts, but other advancements, as well. 

7. Personal relationships matter. As in any community, personal relationships developed over the years are very useful. In Montgomery County, for example, a principal advocate had worked for years as a PTA volunteer, as a local PTA president, and as a member of a number of other advisory committees and community school advocacy committees. In those activities, he developed relationships and credibility that made it easier to be an advocate for potentially controversial issues, like this one. 

8. Never underestimate the depths to which the opposition will go to impose their views. This may seem harsh, but sadly it is a reflection of reality. The opposition, at least in our experience, does not simply reach conclusions by seeing the world through a different side of the prism. Rather – perhaps because their views are ideologically and theologically based – they often seem to take the view that the ends justify the means. We always need to be prepared for that, and to be prepared for the most outrageous attacks imaginable. Significantly, we need to be prepared to assist school systems in defending against lawsuits the opposition may bring in order to intimidate, and to be able to convince school systems that, if necessary, it is worthwhile to stand up to such intimidation. 

9. Be ready for wolves in sheeps’ clothing. More skillful members of the opposition may couch their arguments in terms of respect for all without condoning or encouraging what they view as immoral behavior, all the while focusing on the respect angle. We must always remember that generalized statements of civility are nice, but they do little good if they are coupled with policies that marginalize our LGBT children. Also, keep in mind that people may run for school boards, or other public offices, without revealing that they have an anti-gay agenda. 

10. Always be civil and dignified. It will be tempting to lash out in public against outrageous attacks on ourselves and/or our children. But it is always more important to channel that passion into effective public presentations. Anger may create a good news story on some television stations, but it does not advance the ball. Over time, people of good will come to recognize the humanity of everyone, regardless of sexual orientation. 

11. Efforts to reform our public schools take hard work and dedication. Activists who care about educating children on the realities of sexual orientation must be prepared to do the hard work of educating both school officials and the community-at-large. They also must carefully cultivate allies, and develop a sense of when to push hard, and when to give people in power the space to act. It is also important to understand which players we can count on to be proactive – and how to help them be so.

 

Maryland Matters Commentary: We can't opt out of diversity in our schools and communities

 

Commentary: We can’t opt out of diversity in our schools and communities 

By Guest Commentary

July 11, 2023

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By David S. Fishback, Metro DC PFLAG co-chair for Maryland advocacy; Jill Ortman-Fouse, a former member of the Montgomery County Board of Education; Rev. Rachel Cornwell, United Methodist clergy; Michael Solomon, a former MCPS student leader and co-founder of MoCo 4 Change; and Laura Stewart, a PTA leader.

The writers are members of the Coalition for Inclusive Schools and Communities.

Montgomery County is one of the most diverse areas in the country. Recognizing this fact, the Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) has been working to create an educational environment that includes and embraces previously marginalized groups by reflecting their diversity in its curriculum, staffing, and culture. Students do best when they feel connected to their schools and know they belong.

MCPS policy includes the use of age-appropriate storybooks that include LGBTQ+ people and their families. Faced with objections from some parents who wish to opt their children out of exposure to these materials, MCPS recently reiterated and affirmed its systemwide policy. This has led to a campaign by some to reverse that policy through litigation and pressure.

Litigation and pressure

The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty filed a lawsuit on behalf of three parents seeking to require MCPS to allow them, for religious reasons, to opt-out of classes that use LGBTQ+ inclusive storybooks.

The Becket Fund not only falsely claims that the storybooks are part of a sexuality education curriculum, but makes unfounded assertions about the validity of the concerns that have led MCPS to be inclusive of LGBTQ+ people. Specifically, Paragraphs 142-148 of the complaint press arguments diametrically opposed to the wisdom of mainstream medical associations like the American Academy of Pediatrics and  American Medical Association. The complaint instead relies on the American College of Pediatricians, a fringe ideological entity deemed a “hate group,” which asserts that being gay or lesbian or transgender is a mental illness and that LGBTQ+ people can be “cured” by so-called conversion therapies — therapies which are banned in Maryland for minors.

In addition, it is significant that a proponent of the recent demonstrations is Moms for Liberty, which has become a nationwide force seeking to eliminate discussion of the legacy of American slavery and racism, ban pandemic-related public health precautions in our schools, and eliminate portrayal of LGBTQ+ people and their families. In a recent podcast, for example, the chair of the Montgomery County Chapter of Moms for Liberty described supporters of any inclusion of LGBTQ+ people as “the Alphabet Mafia.”

What actually is involved in the dispute?

MCPS acted legally in not permitting an opt-out option for storybooks. While an opt-out option is mandated by Maryland law for instruction on human sexuality (the only part of the curriculum as to which parents have a right to an opt-out), the storybooks at issue do not involve sex. As one MCPS parent explained in testimony before the Board of Education, “The book ‘Prince and Knight’ is no more about gay sex than ‘Cinderella’ and ‘Snow White’ are about heterosexual sex.”

It is important that all students see themselves and their families in the stories they read and the work they do. Seeing themselves, feeling a sense of belonging, reduces self harm, substance use, and death by suicide.

MCPS’s determination to include reading materials that embrace a wide range of people of diverse backgrounds and identities, including LGBTQ+ characters, is a good thing. No one should feel that they don’t belong in our classrooms. The storybooks at issue do not teach students to become LGBTQ+. They do convey inclusion and kindness, part of MCPS’s core mission.

The MCPS Board of Education’s  inclusion policies impelled its determination that there should not be an opt-out from lessons using inclusive books in the language arts curriculum. Texts with LGBTQ+ characters are fundamental to MCPS’s mission of inclusive and welcoming learning, as is the reflection of all student and family identities in texts. If opt-outs were allowed in this circumstance, then LGBTQ+ people and their families would be stigmatized and discriminated against — precisely what wise Board-approved policies are intended to combat.

Consider the ramifications of allowing opt-outs any time a parent objected to their students’ exposure, for example, to the teaching of evolution in biology classes. Or teaching the accurate history of slavery. Or the contributions of recent immigrants to our country.

So where do we go from here? 

Parents are always able to have discussions with their children about their own theological beliefs. We hope that the parents who wish to have an opt-out will stay in our public schools — their abandonment would undercut everyone’s ability to understand each other. But we cannot sacrifice the well-being of our student body as a whole by conveying a message that it is ok to marginalize some groups of people.

If parents have particular issues with specific storybooks because they do not believe they are age-appropriate, then they should have an avenue to express their concerns, and give MCPS the opportunity to address those concerns. 

https://www.marylandmatters.org/2023/07/11/commentary-we-cant-opt-out-of-diversity-in-our-schools-and-communities/