国家全美有色人种协进会董事会已经发布了正式的建议反对去佛罗里达旅行声称该州在州长罗恩·德桑蒂斯的领导下变得“敌视非洲裔美国人”。
全美有色人种协进会委员会呼吁全国游客放弃前往佛罗里达州的举动正值AAA旅行社估计4230万美国人计划在即将到来的阵亡将士纪念日周末上路。
董事会一致投票决定发布旅行建议，称该决定“是对州长罗恩·德桑蒂斯试图抹去黑人历史并限制佛罗里达学校多样性、公平和包容计划的直接回应。"
“佛罗里达州公开敌视非裔美国人、有色人种和LGBTQ+个人。在前往佛罗里达州之前，请理解佛罗里达州贬低和边缘化了非洲裔美国人和其他有色人种社区的贡献和面临的挑战，”该咨询意见称。
全美有色人种协进会校长兼首席执行官德里克·约翰逊(Derrick Johnson)指责德桑蒂斯和其他州领导人“玩忽职守”，并称未能教授“准确描述美国黑人已经面临并将继续面临的恐怖和不平等”的趋势是对佛罗里达州学生的伤害。
约翰逊在一份声明中说:“在州长德桑蒂斯的领导下，佛罗里达州对美国黑人充满敌意，并与我们联盟赖以建立的民主理想直接冲突。”“他应该知道民主将会胜利，因为它的捍卫者准备站起来战斗。我们不会退缩，我们鼓励我们的盟友和我们一起为我们国家的灵魂而战。”
旅游忠告最初是由全美有色人种协进会的佛罗里达州会议在三月提出的。当时，德桑蒂斯称该提议是“纯粹的噱头”。
“我们卷入了这些愚蠢的争斗，”德桑蒂斯在三月份说。“这是一个尝试这样做的噱头。”
在国家全美有色人种协进会董事会周六投票后，德桑蒂斯的新闻秘书杰里米·雷德费恩(Jeremy Redfern)发表了一份声明，重复了州长之前的评论，称“这是一个噱头。”
全美有色人种协进会的旅行建议遵循了拉丁美洲公民联盟(一个拉丁裔民权团体)和平等佛罗里达州(一个同性恋权利倡导团体)发布的类似建议。
佛罗里达的经济严重依赖旅游业。据估计，2022年将有1.376亿人访问该州，这是有史以来最多的一次参观佛罗里达该州的官方旅游营销公司。根据佛罗里达州旅游局的数据，2021年，旅游业为该州经济注入了1019亿美元。
德桑蒂斯在11月赢得了州长的第二个任期，预计最早将于本周向联邦选举委员会提交文件，宣布他将参加2024年的总统竞选，这将正式让他参加白宫的竞选，两位知情人士透露了这些计划告诉ABC新闻。
据州官员称，州长及其政府最近拒绝了一门美联社非洲裔美国人研究课程，因为它“莫名其妙地违反了佛罗里达州的法律，并且明显缺乏教育价值”。德桑蒂斯政府还发誓要取消对高等教育中多样性、公平和包容性努力的资助，以及某些关于种族的课程。
德桑蒂斯还在2022年签署了所谓的“停止觉醒”法案限制与种族相关的课程以及在工作场所、学校和大学的谈话。然而，一个上诉法院暂时阻止了该法律在高校的实施。
继德桑蒂斯在3月份推动该州拒绝学生参加AP非裔美国人研究课程后，全美有色人种协进会与美国教师阅读打开世界计划联合会合作，向全州25个以黑人为主的社区分发了10，000本书。捐赠的大部分书籍都是州法律禁止的。
“仇恨激发的国家领导人再次选择将政治置于人民之上。全国全美有色人种协进会董事会主席利昂·拉塞尔在一份声明中说:“州长罗恩·德桑蒂斯和佛罗里达州公然反对多样性和包容性的原则，拒绝接受我们的共同身份，以迎合危险的极端主义少数群体。”。
拉塞尔补充道，“我们不会允许我们的权利和历史被政治哗众取宠所挟持。全美有色人种协进会自豪地对抗佛罗里达州对美国黑人的恶意攻击。我鼓励我的佛罗里达同胞加入这场战斗，保护我们自己和我们的民主。”
NAACP issues travel advisory alleging, Florida 'hostile to African Americans'
The national NAACP Board of Directors has issued a formal advisory againsttraveling to Florida, alleging the state has become "hostile toward African Americans" under the leadership of Gov. Ron DeSantis.
The move by the NAACP board calling on travelers nationwide to forgo visiting Florida comes as AAA Travel estimates 42.3 million Americans plan to hit the road this coming Memorial Day weekend.
The board voted unanimously to issue the travel advisory, saying the decision "comes in direct response to Governor Ron DeSantis' aggressive attempts to erase Black history and to restrict diversity, equity, and inclusion programs in Florida schools."
"Florida is openly hostile toward African Americans, people of color and LGBTQ+ individuals. Before traveling to Florida, please understand that the state of Florida devalues and marginalizes the contributions of, and the challenges faced by African Americans and other communities of color," the advisory states.
Derrick Johnson, the NAACP president and CEO, accused DeSantis and other state leaders of a "dereliction of duty" and called the trend of failing to teach an "accurate representation of the horrors and inequalities that Black Americans have faced and continue to face" a disservice to Florida students.
"Under the leadership of Governor DeSantis, the state of Florida has become hostile to Black Americans and in direct conflict with the democratic ideals that our union was founded upon," Johnson said in a statement. "He should know that democracy will prevail because its defenders are prepared to stand up and fight. We're not backing down, and we encourage our allies to join us in the battle for the soul of our nation."
The travel advisory was initially proposed in March by the NAACP's Florida State Conference. At the time, DeSantis called the proposal "a pure stunt."
"We get involved in these stupid fights," DeSantis said in March. "This is a stunt to try and do that."
Following the vote by the national NAACP Board of Directors on Saturday, Jeremy Redfern, DeSantis' press secretary, issued a statement repeating the governor's previous comment, saying, "This is a stunt."
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis speaks at the Heritage Foundation 50th Anniversary Celebration leadership summit, April 21, 2023, in Oxon Hill, Md.
Alex Brandon/AP, FILE
The NAACP's travel advisory follows similar ones issued by the League of United Latin American Citizens, a Latino civil rights group, and Equality Florida, a gay rights advocacy group.
Florida's economy heavily relies on tourism. An estimated 137.6 million people visited the state in 2022, the most ever, according toVISIT FLORIDA, the state's official tourism marketing corporation. In 2021, tourism pumped $101.9 billion into the state's economy, according to VISIT FLORIDA.
DeSantis, who won a second term as governor in November, is expected as early as this week to file paperwork with the Federal Election Commission declaring his candidacy for president in 2024, which would formally enter him in the race for the White House, two sources familiar with the planstold ABC News.
The governor and his administration recently rejected an AP African American studies course because it is "inexplicably contrary to Florida law and significantly lacks educational value," according to state officials. The DeSantis administration has also vowed to remove funding from diversity, equity and inclusion efforts in higher education, as well as certain lessons on race.
DeSantis also signed the so-called "Stop WOKE" Act into law in 2022, whichrestricts race-related curriculumand conversation in workplaces, schools and colleges. However, an appeals court has temporarily blocked the law from being implemented in colleges and universities.
Following DeSantis' drive for the state to reject students' access to AP African American studies courses in March, the NAACP distributed 10,000 books to 25 predominantly Black communities across the state in collaboration with the American Federation of Teachers' Reading Opens the World program. The majority of the books donated were titles banned under state laws.
"Once again, hate-inspired state leaders have chosen to put politics over people. Governor Ron DeSantis and the state of Florida have engaged in a blatant war against principles of diversity and inclusion and rejected our shared identities to appeal to a dangerous, extremist minority," Leon Russell, chair of the national NAACP Board of Directors, said in a statement.
Russell added, "We will not allow our rights and history to be held hostage for political grandstanding. The NAACP proudly fights against the malicious attacks in Florida, against Black Americans. I encourage my fellow Floridians to join in this fight to protect ourselves and our democracy."
