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It appears that a school in Florida—the state where Black studies go to die, or at the very least, be thoroughly whitewashed for Caucasian consumption—has sent out permission slips requiring parents to give content for their children to listen to a reading of a book written by a Black person. No Black person in particular, mind you. The permission slip’s description of the event literally says, “Students will participate and listen to a book written by an African American.”
From NBC News:
“I had to give permission for this or else my child would not participate???” wrote one parent, Charles Walter, who posted a photo of a Miami-Dade County Public Schools permission slip to X on Monday evening.
The form describes the activity as a “read aloud” scheduled for Tuesday from 1 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. in the library. Next to “types of guest that may attend the activity or event,” it says: “fireman/doctor/artist.”
In an interview Tuesday, Walter, 46, said the form came from his daughter Eva’s first grade teacher at Coral Way K-8 in Miami.
Walter said that, after he saw it, he gave the teacher verbal consent for Eva to take part but was told that if his daughter didn’t return a signed form, she could not participate.
“My daughter didn’t even mention it to me,” Walter said. “She didn’t want me to sign it because she thought it would be boring.”
He added: “The idea that kids can have a say in what activities they participate in is really strange. And then the idea that some kids would be taken out of class, that just seems bizarre.”
OK, but I kind of feel like the lede is being buried here. WHY TF ARE PERMISSION SLIPS BEING SENT OUT JUST TO ALERT PARENTS THAT A BOOK BY A BLACK GUY IS BEING READ???
Obviously, the forms are being sent out in compliance with state laws such as the Parental Rights in Education law (aka the “Don’t Say Gay” bill), and Gov. Ron DeSantis‘ infamous Stop W.O.K.E. Act. Florida Republicans have framed these laws as legislation that gives parents greater control over their children’s education and protects them from “woke” indoctrination, but those of us who understand the power of white fragility know these laws were put in place because conservatives get their Klan-taloons all in a bunch at the thought of their children learning non-whitewashed Black history or that people with different sexual orientations and gender identities exist.
Now, to be sure, Florida Education Commissioner Manny Diaz Jr. claims the permission slip Walter shared was a “hoax,” that “Florida does not require a permission slip to teach African American history or to celebrate Black History Month,” and that “any school that does this is completely in the wrong.”
However, when a spokesperson for the district put out a statement regarding the permission slip, it wasn’t called a “hoax” or even “wrong,” just unclear.
“We realize that the description of the event may have caused confusion, and we are working with our schools to reemphasize the importance of clarity for parents in describing activities/events that would require parental permission,” the statement read. “However, in compliance with State Law, permission slips were sent home because guest speakers would participate during a school-authorized education-related activity.”
Yes, it’s odd that students need a permission slip just to listen to a guest speaker, any guest speaker, in class. It’s also odd that the district didn’t bother addressing the fact that this form in particular specified that permission was needed for students to listen to a Black author, even if it was only addressed to say that it was wrong or a hoax.
And let’s be real about one thing: This permission slip might be egregious, but it’s not very hard to believe. This is Florida, after all.
It wasn’t a hoax when DeSantis and the Florida Board of Education approved lessons that taught enslaved people benefited from slavery. It wasn’t some giant prank when Florida officials said they rejected an Advanced Placement course covering African American Studies because the curriculum didn’t offer any “opposing viewpoints” or “other perspectives” of slavery. The “education” board wasn’t just playing around in our faces when it put unqualified Black conservative “educators” with no real expertise in Black History in charge of its new Black history standards, and those non-experts got most of their “history” completely wrong. And it was no hoax when those same Florida officials selected PragerU—an unaccredited conservative non-profit organization founded by racist conservative radio host Dennis Prager—to provide classroom materials to Florida schools. (We previously reported about how PragerU produced animated videos for children that taught, among other things, that ex-slave and iconic abolitionist Frederick Douglass would have agreed with America’s choice to prioritize white supremacy over ending slavery.)
So, yes, it would be bizarre, ridiculous and egregiously racist if a school required permission slips for students to listen to a Black author. It would also be very characteristically Florida.
SEE ALSO:
Miami Preschool Under Fire For Putting Blackface On Toddlers For Black History Month *Lesson*
Students Stage Walkout In Protest Over Restrictions Placed On Black History Month Program
