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[ [link removed] ]JOIN THE FIGHT AGAINST BLACK ERASURE!

John,

The Florida State Legislature strikes again, but this time the target is
all sacred spaces created for and by Black college students. A few weeks
ago, the legislative body advanced House Bill 999, an anti-diversity bill
that would prohibit universities from funding diversity, equity or
inclusion initiatives. It also would give state university officials power
to ban departments that uplift the histories of marginalized communities.
And it could weaken the presence of Black student unions (BSUs) and Black
Greek-letter organizations (BGLOs) on public university and college
campuses.^1

What this means, John, is that the University of Miami could be
forced to abolish its Racial Justice Pilot Grant Program, a
community-based scholarship funding student-led initiatives that challenge
anti-Black racism on and off-campus.^2 The University of Florida could be
forced to shut down its Gender, Sexuality, and Women’s Studies Department,
as well as its African-American Studies Department, leaving Black, POC and
LGBTQ+ students with little access to an education that affirms their
identities.^3 All Florida public colleges and universities could soon
diminish the influence that BSUs and BGLOs have over decisions impacting
Black students or possibly eliminate financial support given to these
groups to curate events for their communities.

But, John, we know where our power is and who we need to
pressure to ensure that Black history and culture remain accessible to all
students: Educational organizations that have refused to condemn H.B. 999
or resist calls to censor Black history in their content and corporations
that have protected their executives who sit on the Florida State Board of
Education, which has enacted at least three anti-diversity policies in the
past two years alone. Here’s how you can take action to support Color Of
Change’s efforts to #DefendBlackHistory and Black students on all fronts:

 1. From mathematics textbook bans to social studies requirements banning
lessons on systemic racism, textbook publishers are under increasing
pressure to censor Black history in their materials. [ [link removed] ]Sign our
petition demanding that McGraw Hill, Pearson and other textbook
publishers make a public commitment to never whitewash its content or
cave into Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ racist agenda.
 2. C-suite executives at Walmart and AT&T currently serve on the Florida
State Board of Education, which approved the Advanced Placement
African American Studies ban in public secondary schools. [ [link removed] ]Send an
email to Walmart’s and AT&T’s CEOs demanding that their corporations
condemn the AP African American Studies ban and launch initiatives to
make Black history more accessible to Florida public school students.

[ [link removed] ]SEND AN EMAIL TO AT&T

[ [link removed] ]SIGN OUR PETITION DEMANDING ANTI-RACIST CURRICULA IN TEXTBOOKS

[ [link removed] ]SEND AN EMAIL TO WALMART

Until Justice Is Real,

The Color Of Change Team 

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References:

 1. “CS/HB 999 - Postsecondary Educational Institutions,” Florida House of
Representativse, February 21, 2023,
[ [link removed] ][link removed]
Sam Sachs, “Florida bill would ban CRT and gender studies degrees,
give trustee boards more power,” WFLA News Channel 8, February 24,
2023,
[ [link removed] ][link removed]
Rose Horowitch, “Florida bill would target diversity studies at state
universities,” NBC News, February 24, 2023,
[ [link removed] ][link removed] 
Shevrin Jones, state senator Florida District 34, “Black students are
right to take personally Ron DeSantis’ latest attack on diversity,”
MSNBC, March 19, 2023,
[ [link removed] ][link removed]
 2. “Racial Justice Pilot Program,” University of Miami: Office of the
President, (n.d.),
[ [link removed] ][link removed]
 3. “Department of Gender, Sexuality and Women’s Studies,” University of
Florida, (n.d.), [ [link removed] ][link removed] “African American Studies:
Major,” University of Florida, (n.d.),
[ [link removed] ][link removed]



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