‘Don’t you worry’: Gov. DeSantis vows action against critical race theory
Ron DeSantis. Image via AP.

Ron DeSantis
'You can put lipstick on a pig, it's still a pig.'

Gov. Ron DeSantis continued his crusade against critical race theory in Florida on Friday, this time vowing to fight the academic movement in all its forms across the state.

The Republican Governor’s vow comes as the Board of Education prepares to review a proposed rule that would prohibit the teaching of critical race theory in Florida K-12.

Speaking to reporters in Pensacola, DeSantis signaled an eager willingness to remove any trace of the theory in a school’s education curriculum — even if its under a different name.

“You can put lipstick on a pig, it’s still a pig,” DeSantis said

“If we have to play whack a mole all over the state stopping this critical race theory, we will do it,” he later added.

Critical race theory suggests race and racism are an undercurrent within politics, law and human interaction. According to Purdue University, the theory subscribes to concepts including White privilege, institutional racism, microaggressions and social construction.

Notably, DeSantis is among a growing force of Republicans bashing the theory and fighting to remove it from schools.

In the past, DeSantis has described the teachings as “indoctrination.”

“It’s offensive to the taxpayer that they would be asked to fund critical race theory,” DeSantis said. “That they would ask to fund teaching kids to hate their country and to hate each other.”

Instead, DeSantis suggested civics should remain a priority with constitutional studies as the foundation. Moreover, the teachings should be rooted in facts, not ideology.

“We’ll be taking action,” DeSantis concluded. “Don’t you worry.”

DeSantis in March unveiled a  Civic Literacy Excellence Initiative: an ambitious proposal to use $116 million in federal coronavirus relief funds to ramp up civics education.

Among the line items, the initiative proposes $17 million to develop curriculums with “foundational concepts” rather than critical race theory, DeSantis explained.

Jason Delgado

Jason Delgado covers news out of the Florida State Capitol. After a go with the U.S. Army, the Orlando-native attended the University of Central Florida and earned a degree in American Policy and National Security. His past bylines include WMFE-NPR and POLITICO Florida. He'd love to hear from you. You can reach Jason by email ([email protected]) or on Twitter at @byJasonDelgado.


15 comments

  • Ron Ogden

    May 21, 2021 at 7:07 pm

    “. . .vowing to fight the academic movement. . .” Talk putting lipstick on a pig!
    Critical race theory is blatant racism built on the flimsiest of premises. It aims to imbue a hodge-podge of over-intellectual notions with a quasi-legalistic apologetics. It’s unstated but certain goal is to promote the collapse of traditional western civilization and replace it with something nebulous, introspective and conflicted–but “equal!” Hoping that I am not giving to much to the pork-privileged, I’ll call it BALONEY.

    • tjb

      May 23, 2021 at 3:14 pm

      Ron, you are a credit to your race.

      • jwh

        May 23, 2021 at 4:52 pm

        Systemic racism is a reality. Recognizing a problem is the first step in finally addressing and correcting it – has nothiing to do with hating each other or our country. Understanding this is a way to heal, not divide.

        • Tristan

          May 24, 2021 at 12:49 am

          totally agreed, republicans are trying to get rid of this to stay in power.

  • Tom Palmer

    May 21, 2021 at 7:54 pm

    Those uppity Blacks should just shut up. Right. Ron?

    • Charlotte Greenbarg

      May 22, 2021 at 7:14 am

      Classic playing of the race card by the far left to distract from the pig in the room. When you have no facts to back up an argument just cry “racism!”

      • Tom Palmer

        May 22, 2021 at 3:58 pm

        Some people might say, uncharitably, that this is all about the pigs in the room.

        • Zhombre

          May 22, 2021 at 4:30 pm

          Oh I wouldn’t call you a pig, Tommy. An ass or a snake maybe but not a pig.

  • Edward Lyle

    May 23, 2021 at 10:52 am

    I don’t care if you slap lipstick, butter, or cream cheese on it. The unimpeachable fact is that CRT is a tool of hatred, division, and lies used by the alt-left wing-bats and the Democrats to cause unrest and animus among the masses… and to warp the minds of the young and malleable with a goal of amassing a larger base of militant malcontents focused on the destruction of our Republic.

    You may not like the truth, but you’d better start dealing with it.

    • tjb

      May 23, 2021 at 3:17 pm

      You are spot-on Mr. Lyle. Racism does not exist in America. if the truth is to be told.

      • jwh

        May 23, 2021 at 4:53 pm

        Tjb, is that sarcasm? Or do you actually believe that?

        • tjb

          May 24, 2021 at 8:05 am

          Sarcasm!

  • Ocean Joe

    May 23, 2021 at 4:23 pm

    So when do we get to pile up all the school books and burn them? Can we burn the math and science books too?

  • Kanisha

    May 25, 2021 at 10:16 am

    How is teaching our children to be aware of and beat into their heads how different they are as far as color of their skin a good thing?! This is just reverse racism nothing more nothing less, regardless of the name you stick on it. It’s just another antic to “get back at the white ” this is not the solution it’s absolutely insane! History is history it happened you can’t just change it because u don’t like it. Its sad how this hate Is Being used to mask the real issues…if you don’t like the FACTS, well I’m sorry but you’re delusional . Facts are that there is more black on black crime and murder each year, but you don’t wanna talk about that. I was raised in a bad neighborhood parents were not around but I CHOSE to DO something with my life. How Is it white people’s fault that statistically black women pump out kids and stay on welfare? Or that a large percentage of blqck.males sell drugs and are violent? You can’t argue facts. If you do you’re just another idiot. I know several black women who came from awful situations yet they choose to work hard and go to college and make something of themselves just like every other person who had the will to DO.IT. Everyone has the opportunity, I don’t see how it’s ok to blame white people over another races Laziness. sure there’s always bad apples, but what this is is reverse racism, period. Two wrongs don’t make a right. Not one single person alive today has ever owned a slave so get the f over yourselves and put this energy into an education instead of trying to get something for nothing. Get off your back, put ur panties on and study and make yourself something other than a welfare recipient and crying about how just because others have goals and go after them your to lazy to do and would rather do the things your doing .

    • Not a Democrat

      May 25, 2021 at 2:51 pm

      Critical Race Theory is meant to teach everyone to read comments with a critical eye, determine what is true, and identify what is false.

      For example, you said, “History is history it happened you can’t just change it because u don’t like it.” Yet, that’s exactly what happened–US history was presented in textbooks for 2-1/2 centuries to exclude anything that appeared negative. We were told that “Columbus discovered America” but not that there were thriving civilizations already when Columbus got here nor that the Spanish who followed started genocide and enslavement of those they encountered.

      You said, “statistically black women pump out kids and stay on welfare,” when the truth is quite different. There is no “welfare” program in the US; SNAP/EBT is an *agriculture* program, and there are many more white people receiving SNAP, Medicaid, and housing vouchers than black women. As to birth rate–it has dropped alarmingly among ALL US citizens, causing people to wonder who is going to be providing care for our aging population.

      You said, “Not one single person alive today has ever owned a slave.” However, enslavement for both work and sex work is rampant and is one of the most pressing social problems of the day. The fact that for-profit prisons are full of people wrongly convicted or people incarcerated on minor drug charges (for which purpose the current Schedule 1 status of marijuana was created) makes your statement misguided (we all own those slaves together) and wrong.

      Here’s a link to an eye-opening book that you might find interesting. Thousands of people have paid good money to read it, and you can download it at this site for free.
      https://allbookshub.com/lies-my-teacher-told-me-pdf/

Comments are closed.


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