Teh One Who Knocks
08-18-2022, 06:24 PM
By Janelle Griffith - NBC News
https://i.imgur.com/kK0HPsil.jpeg
The ACLU, the ACLU of Florida, the Legal Defense Fund and a national law firm filed a lawsuit Thursday challenging Florida's "Stop WOKE Act," which restricts how race, gender and inequality are discussed in schools, colleges and workplaces.
The complaint, filed in federal court, names the Florida Board of Governors of the State University System and the commissioner of the Florida State Board of Education as defendants.
Renee Fargason, a spokeswoman for the Florida Board of Governors of the State University System, said she could not comment on pending litigation. The Florida State Board of Education did not immediately reply to a request for comment.
It also names as defendants the boards of trustees at several public universities within the university system. They have made no public comment on the lawsuit. DeSantis' communications office did not immediately return a request for comment.
The complaint charges that the "Stop WOKE Act" is racially motivated censorship enacted by the Florida Legislature to stifle widespread demands to discuss, study and address systemic inequalities, following the nationwide protests that provoked discussions about race and racism in the aftermath of the 2020 killings of Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor and George Floyd.
As part of the racial reckoning spurred by their deaths, people across disciplines, including professors and other educators at universities, sought to talk about the importance of racial justice in their work, and a number of departments issued statements that emphasized their commitment to anti-racism in their classrooms, Leah Watson, senior staff attorney with the ACLU Racial Justice Program, said in an interview Wednesday.
"After the 'Stop WOKE Act' went into effect, many of those statements were withdrawn altogether," Watson said.
Gov. Ron DeSantis signed the bill into law in April. The legislation, officially known as House Bill 7, passed the Florida House and Florida Senate along party lines. It bars instruction that might make members of one race feel guilty for past actions committed by their race and also bars the notion that meritocracy is racist or that people are privileged or oppressed based on race, gender or national origin. It also prevents the teaching of critical race theory, which opponents of the legislation have said is not taught in Florida's K-12 public schools.
https://i.imgur.com/kK0HPsil.jpeg
The ACLU, the ACLU of Florida, the Legal Defense Fund and a national law firm filed a lawsuit Thursday challenging Florida's "Stop WOKE Act," which restricts how race, gender and inequality are discussed in schools, colleges and workplaces.
The complaint, filed in federal court, names the Florida Board of Governors of the State University System and the commissioner of the Florida State Board of Education as defendants.
Renee Fargason, a spokeswoman for the Florida Board of Governors of the State University System, said she could not comment on pending litigation. The Florida State Board of Education did not immediately reply to a request for comment.
It also names as defendants the boards of trustees at several public universities within the university system. They have made no public comment on the lawsuit. DeSantis' communications office did not immediately return a request for comment.
The complaint charges that the "Stop WOKE Act" is racially motivated censorship enacted by the Florida Legislature to stifle widespread demands to discuss, study and address systemic inequalities, following the nationwide protests that provoked discussions about race and racism in the aftermath of the 2020 killings of Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor and George Floyd.
As part of the racial reckoning spurred by their deaths, people across disciplines, including professors and other educators at universities, sought to talk about the importance of racial justice in their work, and a number of departments issued statements that emphasized their commitment to anti-racism in their classrooms, Leah Watson, senior staff attorney with the ACLU Racial Justice Program, said in an interview Wednesday.
"After the 'Stop WOKE Act' went into effect, many of those statements were withdrawn altogether," Watson said.
Gov. Ron DeSantis signed the bill into law in April. The legislation, officially known as House Bill 7, passed the Florida House and Florida Senate along party lines. It bars instruction that might make members of one race feel guilty for past actions committed by their race and also bars the notion that meritocracy is racist or that people are privileged or oppressed based on race, gender or national origin. It also prevents the teaching of critical race theory, which opponents of the legislation have said is not taught in Florida's K-12 public schools.