ANALYSIS
The single sentence in Florida’s new K-12 social studies curriculum that caused a political uproar is not the curriculum’s most significant problem. In fact, some enslaved people did use skilled labor to accumulate enough money to purchase their freedom, laying the foundation for the first free Black communities in the mid-17th century Chesapeake, to cite one scholarly example, according to the late Ira Berlin’s classic study, “Many Thousands Gone.”
Critics contend the offending line in the middle school curriculum – “Instruction includes how slaves developed skills which, in some instances, could be applied for their personal benefit” – implies Black people benefited from slavery. They do not trust that Florida’s African American History Standards Workgroup operated free from ideological influence. The 13-member workgroup was appointed to rewrite the state’s standards following last year’s passage of the Stop WOKE Act, which is designed to thwart the supposed liberal indoctrination of Florida school kids.
Moreover, Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis, who rails against the “woke mind virus,” is running for president, leaving him vulnerable to the backlash. Why else would Vice President Kamala Harris travel to Florida to deliver a speech blasting the standards?
However, the single item at the center of this controversy is not important compared to other problems. The new African American history standards almost entirely ignore the centrality of property rights in enslavement. This omission is important because the bedrock defense of human chattel slavery – a system that allows people to be bought, sold and owned forever as legal property – was the right to private property. The standards also have little to say about pro-slavery ideology. Race and racism, while not ignored, are not sufficiently emphasized in the eyes of some critics.
SEE ALSO: History As It Happens: Understanding emancipation at 160
In this episode of History As It Happens, historian Bob Hall, professor emeritus of African American studies and history at Northeastern University, discusses the uproar over Florida’s K-12 curriculum.
“The question is what kind of skills did which slaves have, where, and when did they acquire them? And you can develop a typology of skills acquired in Africa prior to transportation across the middle passage. You can find skills acquired in the West Indies prior to transfer to North America. You can find skills acquired under slavery,” said Mr. Hall, who noted that slave owners often trained their slaves to perform certain skilled tasks so they wouldn’t have to hire paid White labor instead.
History As It Happens is available at washingtontimes.com or wherever you find your podcasts.
