The Constant Drumbeat of How Badly White People Wanted to End Slavery
Yet They Kept/Keep Reinventing It
A modern-day comparison could be Republicans taking credit in their states for infrastructure projects, including building roads and bridges, without mentioning they voted against the Infrastructure Bill. While researching, I kept running across people trying to convince me that white people worked so hard to end slavery when, in some instances, it didn’t end until 100 years after such attempts were made.
The State of Florida is an example, but they are not alone. In reviewing Florida’s State Academic Standards for Black History, I uncovered example after example of how white people tried to end slavery, with no mention of the winning side who did all they could to maintain it. To be sure, there were organizations like The Quakers (though they once traded slaves themselves) and individuals like Thomas Paine who worked hard to end enslavement. Others like John Jay pushed for gradual manumission, and he freed several of his slaves during his lifetime once he felt they deserved it. Abraham Lincoln had much to say about maintaining enslavement but is credited in Florida for his “evolving views.”
Here are some examples of what Florida requires teachers to tell children about Black History:
