Ron DeSantis: ‘We Will Not Allow Schools to Twist History’

Republican gubernatorial incumbent Gov. Ron DeSantis, speaks to supporters Tuesday, Aug. 2
AP Photo/Gaston De Cardenas
Hannah Knudsen

Florida will not allow schools to “twist history” to back the false narrative of the left, Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) vowed on Tuesday after being asked about legal efforts to end the “Stop W.O.K.E Act” in the state.

When asked about woke teachers who are worried the measure will “lead to a whitewashing of teaching of slavery and other issues,” DeSantis told them to read Florida statues, as they are “required to teach slavery, the post reconstruction and segregation, [and] Civil Rights,” he said. “Those are core parts of American history that should be taught.”

However, DeSantis emphasized that it should be “taught accurately.”

“For example, the 1619 project is a CRT version of history. It’s supported by the New York Times. They want to teach our kids that the American revolution was fought to protect slavery, and that’s false,” DeSantis said. “We know why the American Revolution was fought.”

“They wrote pamphlets. We saw them dump tea into the Boston Harbor. We saw meet in Philadelphia and we have the records of why they revolted against king George III. And so it was the American Revolution that caused people to question slavery,” DeSantis said, emphasizing that Americans collectively agreed that we are “endowed by our Creator with unalienable rights and that we are all created equal.”

“You can’t teach history that’s being used to pursue an ideological agenda. You can’t teach that the foundations of our country were somehow evil. Our founders pledged their lives, fortunes, sacred honor, and they put a marker in the sand,” he said, explaining that it did not live up to all the ideals right away, but “every major movement in our country’s history has gone right back to those core principles.”

DeSantis added that Florida, under his leadership, will not allow this radical movement to delegitimize the founders such as George Washington.

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