From 19m ago
In an impassioned address in Jacksonville, Florida in front of a crowd of teachers, lawyers, lawmakers and activists, vice president Kamala Harris vowed to fight against the Florida’s education board’s decision to teach students that Black people somehow benefited from slavery.
Harris took aim at right-wing Republicans whom she called “extremist so-called leaders” and accused of waging a “national agenda” on attempting to rewrite American history.
“Extremist so-called leaders for months have dared to ban books…and now they want to replace history with lies… They insult us in an attempt to gaslight us and we will not have it. We will not let it happen,” she said.
She went to accuse them of daring to “push propaganda to our children,” citing other highly restrictive laws in Florida including the so-called ‘Don’t Say Gay’ ban, prohibition of certain books in classrooms, as well as voting and reproductive rights.
Harris called the recent decision by the state’s education board “outrageous,” saying that it is “an abject and purposeful and intentional policy to mislead our children,” as well as a broader attempt to create “unecessary debates [and] to divide our country.”
She went on to urge Americans to unite the coalition of “all people who believe in our foundational and fundamental truths.”
“Let us stand always for what we know is right. Let us fight for what is right. And when we fight, we win,” Harris said in her closing remarks.
It is nearly 5pm in Washington DC. Here is a wrap-up of the day’s key events:
In an impassioned address in Jacksonville, Florida, vice president Kamala Harris vowed to fight against the Florida’s education board’s decision to teach students that Black people somehow benefited from slavery. Harris took aim at right-wing Republicans whom she called “extremist so-called leaders” and accused them of waging a “national agenda” on attempting to rewrite American history.
Advocacy groups have denounced the Florida curriculum changes for providing a sanitized version of history. The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, Florida Education Association, and Center for K-12 Black History and Racial Literacy Education are among some of the numerous groups across the country that have condemned the new changes.
The justice department has told Texas governor Greg Abbott that it intends to file legal action over a floating barrier wall he erected in the Rio Grande River to block migrants from entering Texas from Mexico. The letter, obtained by CNN, reads: “The State of Texas’s actions violate federal law, raise humanitarian concerns, present serious risks to public safety and the environment, and may interfere with the federal government’s ability to carry out its official duties.”
Democratic presidential hopeful Robert F Kennedy Jr appeared on Thursday before a hearing convened by House Republicans, where he sought to portray himself as a victim of censorship by social media and members of his party. Kennedy declared he is neither an antisemite nor a racist, days after he was filmed falsely suggesting that the coronavirus could have been “ethnically targeted” to spare Ashkenazi Jews and Chinese people.
The grandson of former president John F Kennedy ridiculed Robert F Kennedy’s 2024 White House bid, joining other members of the Kennedy family in condemning the Democratic presidential hopeful’s false remarks that Covid-19 was engineered to target some ethnic groups and spare others. In a video posted to his Instagram, Jack Schlossberg endorsed Joe Biden’s re-election campaign, saying he was on the way to becoming “the greatest progressive president we’ve ever had” who “shares my grandfather’s vision for America.”
The Biden administration has secured voluntary commitments on “responsible innovation” from the seven US companies that are driving innovation in artificial intelligence, Joe Biden said. He said AI brings “incredible opportunities” as well as risks to society and economy.
The federal judge overseeing former president Donald Trump’s trial on his mishandling of classified documents case has set a trial date for 20 May 2024. The ruling from US district judge Aileen Cannon places Trump’s criminal trial less than six months ahead of the November 2024 presidential election.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis threatened the parent company of Bud Light with legal action for sponsoring transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney. In a letter to Florida state’s pension fund manager, CNN reported, DeSantis alleged that AB InBev had decided to associate with “radical social ideologies” and “may have breached legal duties owed to its shareholders.”
That’s it from me, Maya Yang, as we close the blog for today. Thank you for following along.
In an impassioned address in Jacksonville, Florida in front of a crowd of teachers, lawyers, lawmakers and activists, vice president Kamala Harris vowed to fight against the Florida’s education board’s decision to teach students that Black people somehow benefited from slavery.
Harris took aim at right-wing Republicans whom she called “extremist so-called leaders” and accused of waging a “national agenda” on attempting to rewrite American history.
“Extremist so-called leaders for months have dared to ban books…and now they want to replace history with lies… They insult us in an attempt to gaslight us and we will not have it. We will not let it happen,” she said.
She went to accuse them of daring to “push propaganda to our children,” citing other highly restrictive laws in Florida including the so-called ‘Don’t Say Gay’ ban, prohibition of certain books in classrooms, as well as voting and reproductive rights.
Harris called the recent decision by the state’s education board “outrageous,” saying that it is “an abject and purposeful and intentional policy to mislead our children,” as well as a broader attempt to create “unecessary debates [and] to divide our country.”
She went on to urge Americans to unite the coalition of “all people who believe in our foundational and fundamental truths.”
“Let us stand always for what we know is right. Let us fight for what is right. And when we fight, we win,” Harris said in her closing remarks.
“Let us not be distracted by what they’re trying to do, which is to create unnecessary debates, to divide our country. Let’s not fall in that trap,” said Harris.
“We will stand united as a country. We know our collective history. It is our shared history. We are all in this together…
And we will not allow them to suggest anything other than what we know. The vast majority of us have so much more in common than what separates us.
And so let us stand always for what we know is right. Let us fight for what is right. And when we fight, we win,” Harris said in her closing remarks.
“We fought a war to end the sin of slavery. People died by the untold numbers in that war, many of whom fought and died because of their belief that slavery was a sin against man, that it was inhumane,” said Harris.
“So who then would dare deny this history? Who would dare then deny that these lives were lost and why they were lost in what was the cause that they were fighting for and what they were fighting against.
They weren’t fighting and dying because they thought people were going to be okay with this thing. It’s because they knew that it had to end because it was so criminal…
We know the history and let us not let these politicians who are trying to divide our country because you see what they are doing by creating these unnecessary debates.
To debate whether inslaved people benefited from slavery? Are you kidding me?” Harris added.
“History has shown us that in our darkest moments, we have the ability to unite and to come out stronger,” said Harris.
“Our history as a nation is born out of tragedy and triumph. That’s who we are. Part of that is what gives us our grit, knowing where we came from, knowing the struggles that we have come through and being stronger in our dedication to saying no more and not again.
It is part of what makes up the character of who we are as America so let’s reject the notion that we would deny all of this in terms of our history. Let us not be seduced into believing that somehow we will be better if we forget,” she added.
“This is not the first time in history that we’ve come across this kind of approach. This is not the first time that there are powerful forces that have attempted to distort history for the sake of political ends,” said Harris.
“I have done an exercise of looking to see from where we are seeing these attacks on things like voting rights, LGBTQ rights, a woman’s right to make decisions about her own body. You will not be surprised to know, a lot of them revert to the same source so let’s think about this then as an opportunity to build back up the coalition of all people who believe in our foundational and fundamental truths,” she added.
“Teachers want to teach the truth…and so they should not be then told by politicians that they should be teaching revisionist history in order to keep their jobs,” said Harris.
“What is going on? Teachers fear that if they teach the truth, they may lose their job. As it is, we don’t pay them enough.
And these are the people, these extremist so-called leaders who all the while are also the ones suggesting that teachers strap on a gun in the classroom,” Harris added.
“The myth that there was some benefit is not only misleading, it is false and it is pushing propaganda,” said Harris.
“People who walk around and want to be praised as leaders…[are] pushing propaganda on our children…
It is a reasonable expectation that our children will not be misled and that’s what’s so outrageous about what is happening right now – an abject and purposeful and intentional policy to mislead our children,” she added.
“Adults know what slavery really involved. It involved rape, it involved torture, it involved taking a baby from their mother. It involved some of the worst examples of depriving people of humanity in our world,” said Harris.
“It involves subjecting people to the requirement that they would think of themselves and be thought of as less than human. So in the context of that, how could anyone suggest that in the midst of these atrocities that there was any benefit to being subjected to this level of dehumanization?” said Harris, her voice rising as the crowd applauded.
“These extremist so-called leaders should model what we know to be correct and the right approach if we really are invested in the wellbeing of our children,” said Harris.
“Instead, they dare to push propaganda to our children. This is the United States of America. We’re not supposed to do that,” she added.
“When I think about what is happening here in Florida, I am deeply concerned because let’s be clear. I do not believe this is not only about the state of Florida. There is a national agenda,” Harris said.
“Extremist so-called leaders from months have dared to ban books…and now they want to replace history with lies…
They insult us in an attempt to gaslight us and we will not have it. We will not let it happen,” she added.
“All the folks that we would go out and send out children to go and meet around the world are clear about our history, and we…send our children now to not know what it is?” said Harris.
“Building in a handicap for our children, that they are going to be the ones in the room who don’t know their own history when the rest of the world does?” she added.
“The thing about being a role model is that when you’re a role model, people watch what you do to see if it matches what you say,” said Harris.
“So understand the impact that this…has, not only for the children of Florida and our nation, but potentially people around the world.
Because on a more specific point in that regard, we want to know that we are sending our children out as role models of democracy…”
“I am a product of teachers and and educational system that believed in providing the children with the full expanse of information, that allowed them to then reach their own conclusions.” said Harris.
“When I think about where we are today… I know…we share in common a deep love for our country and the responsibility we each have to then fight for its ideals,” she added.
“You are not alone,” Kamala Harris said in her opening remarks as she addressed a crowd of educators, lawyers, politicians and activists in Jacksonville who are opposing the recent changes.
“You’re not out here fighting by yourselves. We believe in you and we believe in the people of Florida,” she said.
Vice-President Kamala Harris is due to speak soon in Jacksonville, Florida, about the state board of education’s curriculum updates that mean public school students will now be taught that some Black people received “personal benefit” from slavery – because it taught them useful skills.
We’ll bring you the latest updates so stay tuned.
Source: US Politics - theguardian.com
