HISTORY
Why Florida is So Desperate to Hide This Speech From Students
The oppression of Black people and their resistance is taboo
Resistance is not a dirty word, but if you try to teach students about Black Americans' efforts in resisting slavery, they may try to wash your mouth with soap. And that's because Florida's Department of Education has deemed these topics taboo. For instance, censors struck an African American Studies course from the official state curriculum, claiming that the course lacked "educational value and historical accuracy." While they did not identify any specific historical inaccuracies that should be corrected within the course materials, they did provide examples of the information they found problematic. For instance, Florida censors took issue with the inclusion of a political speech delivered by twenty-seven-year-old Henry Highland Garnet, a well-known newspaper editor and pastor of a Presbyterian Church in Troy, New York, called "An Address to the Slaves of The United States."
At the National Negro Convention in 1843 in Buffalo, New York, free Black Americans gathered to promote ideas that, at the time, were considered radical — obtaining equal rights and abolishing slavery. Rising leaders such as Fredrick Douglas, Charles B. Ray, and Charles L. Remond were in attendance…
