So far, the Florida Department of Education has earned an F for its revamp of the Black history curriculum in public schools.
Whoever put that curriculum together didn’t do their homework, particularly on the issue of slavery and persecution of Blacks. So-called source material was another problem. Members of the task force who know something about Black history in Florida said their work was ignored by others pushing political agendas.
Education Department Commissioner Manny Diaz didn’t win any support by publicly committing to attend an Aug. 10 meeting with Miami-Dade County community members about the curriculum and then blowing off the meeting.
Diaz and his boss, Gov. Ron DeSantis, have also apparently ignored many of the state’s respected historians. One of those historians, author and longtime University of South Florida professor Gary Mormino, recently wrote in the Tampa Bay Times about an important resource — 1930s oral history interviews with 2,500 former slaves, including 72 from Florida. The interviews were part of a project by Works Progress Administration, one of the New Deal programs created by President Franklin Roosevelt.
The interviews can be found in various locations, including “Born in Slavery,” the Library of Congress database. They were conducted when Blacks in Florida were still living under segregation. Many writers were involved in the project, including Zora Neale Hurston. Her book “Their Eyes Were Watching God” is a definitive portrayal of the horrors of the 1928 hurricane that caused thousands of deaths and much destruction in Palm Beach County.
Equally important are visits to local museums and other places highlighting Black history. Palm Beach County features the S.D. Spady Museum in Delray Beach. Named for a longtime educator and community activist, the museum features Strong Communities Emerging, focusing on the evolution of Black communities in Delray and other local areas from Reconstruction to the mid-20th century.
A few years ago, a Florida government more interested in accurate history published the Florida Black Heritage Trail, which can be found online and downloaded. The Spady Museum is listed alongside other Palm Beach County landmarks such as the 1928 Hurricane memorial and the Jenkins House in West Palm Beach, the Osborne School in Lake Worth and others.
If Diaz or DeSantis haven’t stopped by those places, they should — as should all elected officials in Florida and anyone who has a stake in the future of Florida’s students. The curriculum fiasco shows there is a lot for them to learn.
Sylvia Gurinsky is a tour guide and writer who lives in Davie.
