RON DESANTIS: MALIGNING CRITICAL RACE THEORY ON HIS JOURNEY TO CAPTURE THE WHITE HOUSE IN 2024 What follows is my opinion of the Ron DeSantis-led position negating the basic tenets of Critical Race Theory, also known as “CRT.” As governor of the State of Florida, Ron DeSantis has become an outspoken national leader in what is being called, “A grass-root, parental movement to stop organizations like the Marxist-led “BLM” from undermining the standards of the American Constitution and the enterprising works of “Capitalism.” That is a discussion for another day. Google describes Black Lives Matter as a “Social and political movement with the primary focus of protesting the level of police violence and continuous incidents of racially motivated police brutality against black people across the nation.” Considering the multiple shootings of unarmed Black men across America, how, when, and why, did its focus change to Marxism? Did it, or is this just another political opportunity and attempt to change the narrative on a controversial subject whereby Ron DeSantis can take credit for, play the “I told you so” blame game, and then later benefit politically? Is this the lone perception that this movement is an attempt by BLM to somehow transform traditional American culture accurately? Black Lives Matter: Social Movement Black Lives Matter is a decentralized political and social movement protesting incidents of police brutality and all racially motivated violence against black people. While there are specific organizations such as the Black Lives Matter Global Network that labels themselves simply as "Black Lives Matter," the overall movement is a decentralized network of people and organizations with no formal hierarchy. The slogan "Black Lives Matter" itself remains untrademarked by any group. The broader movement and its related organizations typically advocate against police violence toward black people as well as for various other policy changes considered to be related to black liberation. The BLM movement is not trying to transform traditional American culture, as Ron DeSantis suggests. The revisionist lies have been told for more than five hundred years and is now well ensconced throughout the American educational fabric. So why in 2021 is this the topic of Conservative and Far-Right political focus? BLM is trying to correct the “original” revisionist lies that have already been told by educators and politicians from the start of written history in America. It is an academic work that uses the intersection of law and crime statistics to prove its points of apparent contention. THE STOP WOKE ACT The “Stop Woke Act” is what I will refer to as “Phase II” of the “Conservative Right’s” attempt to continue suppressing the truths that nonwhites and citizens of color need to hear, know, and understand regarding their communities’ contributions to American History. Part of the “Stop Woke Act” would prevent school funding from being put toward consultants connected to critical race theory and would stop staff members from having to go through “anti-racist therapy” or training. It is obvious these same educators have given zero thought to the impact their lies and removal of specialized teacher training will have on millions of school children who grow up with no knowledge of their ancestral history. Slavery is the white man’s history of Africans in America. African History began thousands of years before the slave trade even began in the Americas. White educators and politicians have not given forethought to helping others outside of these minority communities understand the systemic nature of their racist policies. Students are indoctrinated to know only what is written inside the pages of the public education books that have been written about an American History that does not include the accomplishments and contributions of other American groups. Students are programmed to look at their fellow black students with an inability to understand that our culture is not monolithic, there are vast differences based upon economics and societal stratification or position. American culture suffers because the public does not understand how systemic racism diffuses into other American institutions and therefore are of the belief that there is no such thing as Systemic Racism; that minorities are lazy and are simply desirous of another government “Hand out.” Their attitudes of arrogance, privilege, and superiority only limit the communication further. “Passing laws like the “Stop Woke Act” to ban teaching about the existence of racism literally proves a central point of critical race theory — that racism is often built into our legal system & must be actively purged to achieve true justice,” tweeted Qassim Rashid, a human rights lawyer, and Sirius XM personality. “A lie doesn’t become truth, wrong doesn’t become good, just because it’s accepted by a majority.” (“Quote by Booker T. Washington: “A lie doesn't become truth …”) “The brain can’t comprehend what the eyes don’t see.” (“Author unknown”) “Whether it be in business, politics, or community positions of leadership, American Education must be truthful, honest, and all-inclusive, otherwise it is no more than propagandized fiction to caudle the fragile egos of its white citizens.” (“Quote by Camera Alimayu: “Whether it be in business …”) By: A. Shelley Blackson III
