DeSantis, Tim Scott spar over Florida’s teaching of slavery during second GOP debate

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis defended his state’s new Black history education standards during the second Republican presidential debate on Wednesday, dismissing criticism of the curriculum as a “hoax” — and consequently drawing a rebuke from the only Black candidate on the debate stage, U.S. Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina.

Asked about a provision in the curriculum — which was approved by the Florida state Board of Education in July — that teaches that some enslaved people learned skills that ultimately were used for their “personal benefit,” DeSantis quickly brushed off the question as a bad-faith reading of the standards.

“First of all, that’s a hoax that was perpetrated by Kamala Harris,” DeSantis said, referring to the U.S. vice president, who has repeatedly accused Florida officials of trying to white-wash the darkest chapters of U.S. history.

He also noted that the curriculum was developed by “great Black history scholars” and was approved by the state Board of Education.

DeSantis instead insisted that Florida leads the country in education and should serve as a template for other states. He also boasted that he eliminated so-called “critical race theory” from Florida schools and refocused the state’s education standards on “the Constitution” and traditional civics.

But DeSantis’ remarks also received pushback from Scott, who responded by noting that “there is not a redeeming quality in slavery.”

“America has suffered because of slavery, but we’ve overcome that,” Scott said. “We are the greatest nation on earth because we faced our demons in the mirror and made a decision.”

Scott said Florida’s Board of Education should have cut the controversial line from its standards.

It wasn’t the first time that Scott has taken issue with Florida’s Black history standards. He criticized the curriculum in July when asked about it during a trip to Iowa, saying that “what slavery was really about was separating families, about mutilating humans and even raping their wives.”

“I would hope that every person in our country — and certainly running for president — would appreciate that,” Scott said.