Now, more than ever, we need corporations to take action.

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. 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. 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.

SEND AN EMAIL TO AT&T

SIGN OUR PETITION DEMANDING ANTI-RACIST CURRICULA IN TEXTBOOKS

SEND AN EMAIL TO WALMART

Until Justice Is Real,

The Color Of Change Team 

References:

  1. “CS/HB 999 - Postsecondary Educational Institutions,” Florida House of Representativse, February 21, 2023, https://act.colorofchange.org/go/391913?t=11&akid=56191%2E4731121%2EMJ3JzW; Sam Sachs, “Florida bill would ban CRT and gender studies degrees, give trustee boards more power,” WFLA News Channel 8, February 24, 2023, https://act.colorofchange.org/go/391914?t=13&akid=56191%2E4731121%2EMJ3JzW. Rose Horowitch, “Florida bill would target diversity studies at state universities,” NBC News, February 24, 2023, https://act.colorofchange.org/go/391915?t=15&akid=56191%2E4731121%2EMJ3JzW.  Shevrin Jones, state senator Florida District 34, “Black students are right to take personally Ron DeSantis’ latest attack on diversity,” MSNBC, March 19, 2023, https://act.colorofchange.org/go/391916?t=17&akid=56191%2E4731121%2EMJ3JzW.
  2. “Racial Justice Pilot Program,” University of Miami: Office of the President, (n.d.), https://act.colorofchange.org/go/391917?t=19&akid=56191%2E4731121%2EMJ3JzW.
  3. “Department of Gender, Sexuality and Women’s Studies,” University of Florida, (n.d.), https://act.colorofchange.org/go/391918?t=21&akid=56191%2E4731121%2EMJ3JzW; “African American Studies: Major,” University of Florida, (n.d.), https://act.colorofchange.org/go/391919?t=23&akid=56191%2E4731121%2EMJ3JzW.