Thread by @dr_mbutler

THREAD: What the War Against CRT in Florida is really about:
(1) On Saturday I was to be the lead scholar for a NCHE seminar on "The Long Civil Rights Movement" (LCRM) for teachers in Osceola county. @historyed is THE leading organization for HIS teachers. Per their website:

(2) "The National Council for History Education provides professional and intellectual leadership to foster an engaged community committed to the teaching, learning, and appreciation of diverse histories....NCHE empowers learners to research and interpret the past."

(3) The LCRM teachers are engaged in a multi-year program to enhance knowledge of history & civics in underserved school districts. As the lead historian, I provide historical content & work w/an EDU expert to develop classroom resources. A great cause, right?

(4) To give an idea, my topics for Saturday's presentation were "The Long Movement," "The Master Narrative," "The Movement Continued." You know...the factual content. No CRT. All evidence-based truth intended to further educate our educators.

(5) The topics my colleague, the "Master Teacher," addressed were "Historical Thinking," "History Fiction & Teaching Empathy, and "The Sunshine Connection." We have been working together to develop the seminar since early November. Again, nothing pertaining to CRT.

(6) We learned LAST NIGHT that the Curriculum Director @Osceolaschools forced NCHE to cancel Saturday's Seminar. The county now has a Review Committee that examines all training programs for the 'possibility' of teaching CRT.

(7) Evidentially, @Osceolaschools said the topic "would raise red flags with the committee" and it did not have enough time to meet/review our content before the weekend. Therefore, no training for teachers in underserved districts on civil rights history & its civic relevance.

(8) This is the DESIRED EFFECT of the war on History that @RonDeSantisFL is waging through the CRT Trojan Horse. It is an attempt to censor, intimidate, &, ultimately, criminalize the teaching of history that could make some parents uncomfortable - all for political purposes.

(9) OF COURSE anti-CRT bills are political theater. OF COURSE they pander to the loudest extremists. But such fearmongering has a detrimental impact on teachers and students when it comes to Historical Literacy, esp. regarding such a vital topic that is so incredibly relevant.

(10) This is not about keeping teachers from 'going rouge' & teaching CRT, or protecting kids from 'guilt' or 'hate'. This is about making it difficult -if not impossible-to teach any history that considers the Black experience. Hard stop.

(11) Whitewashing the past is a common authoritarian tactic & the teaching of African American History is under fire in Florida. For those of us in Higher Ed this is a bullhorn, & the stakes are real. @craigtimes @claire_goforth @LearnfromHist @ZinnEdProject @antiracist_ed