Accuses the Sunshine State of being ‘openly hostile’ to black and LGBTQ Americans under Ron DeSantis

  • NAACP’s national board of directors issued the travel advisory on Saturday
  • Said Florida is ‘is openly hostile toward African Americans’ under DeSantis
  • DeSantis previously dismissed the proposed advisory as ‘a joke’ and ‘a stunt’ 

The NAACP’s national board of directors has issued a formal travel advisory for Florida, warning black and LGBTQ people against visiting the state due to Governor Ron DeSantis‘ policies.

‘Florida is openly hostile toward African Americans, people of color and LGBTQ+ individuals,’ states the advisory issued on Saturday night by the civil rights group.

‘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,’ it adds.

The NAACP said the advisory was ‘in direct response’ to the Florida governor’s ‘aggressive attempts to erase black history and to restrict diversity, equity, and inclusion programs in Florida schools.’

DeSantis, who is expected to announce his presidential campaign later this week, previously responded to the proposal of an NAACP travel advisory against Florida by calling the idea ‘a joke’.

The travel advisory appears to be a reaction to several related measures that DeSantis recently signed into law.

Last Monday, DeSantis signed a bill into law which bans the state’s public colleges and universities from spending money on diversity, equity and inclusion programs.

‘DEI is better viewed as standing for discrimination, exclusion and indoctrination,’ DeSantis said at the bill signing on the campus of New College of Florida

The Republican governor also backed a measure to block the Advanced Placement African American studies course in public schools, saying the course ‘lacks educational value.’

DeSantis has championed a number of other measures that restrict how schools deal with subjects such as race and gender, with the governor arguing that he is challenging inappropriate liberal ideology in the classroom.

His critics argue the measures are heavy-handed violations of free speech, and an attempt to restrict educators from teaching important topics.

NAACP President and CEO Derrick Johnson said in a statement: ‘Let me be clear – failing to teach an accurate representation of the horrors and inequalities that Black Americans have faced and continue to face is a disservice to students and a dereliction of duty to all.’

‘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,’ he added.

‘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,’ said Johnson.

DeSantis has not yet publicly responded to the travel advisory, but slammed the idea when it was first floated in March, when the Florida chapter of the NAACP first asked national leaders to consider the measure.

‘What a joke,’ he said at the time, according to Florida Politics. ‘Yeah, we’ll see, we’ll see how effective that is.’

The Governor likened the proposal to people who traveled to Florida when pandemic restrictions predominated elsewhere, where ‘they would end up being spotted on the beach somewhere vacationing.’

‘This is a stunt to try to do that. It’s a pure stunt and fine, if you want to waste your time on a stunt, that’s fine. But I’m not wasting my time on your stunts,’ DeSantis added.

Tourism is a major industry in Florida, and last year the state welcomed 137.6 million visitors, the highest number of visitors in the state’s history, according to data from Florida’s official tourism marketing corporation.

In 2021, Florida visitors contributed $101.9 billion to Florida’s economy and supported over 1.7 million Florida jobs, the group said.

NCAA Board Chair Leon Russell said in a statement that the travel advisory is part of a ‘fight to protect ourselves and our democracy’.

‘Once again, hate-inspired state leaders have chosen to put politics over people,’ said Russell.

‘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,’ he added.

‘We will not not allow our rights and history to be held hostage for political grandstanding’

The travel advisory was initially proposed to the NAACP national board of directors by NAACP’s Florida State Conference in March.

‘What a travel advisory is that it allows us the NAACP to warn other blacks across the country to not come to Florida, not send their children to Florida, not vacation in Florida if you’re black,’ James Muwakkil, the Lee County NAACP branch president told WINK-TV at the time.

‘The bullseye has been put on black people’s back by this governor,’ he added.

‘And so through this, if getting permission, we’re going to tell the rest of the world that we will not tolerate second-class citizenship,’ Muwakkil said.