Sen. Tim Scott Criticizes Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis for Whitewashing Slavery in New Black History Curriculum

Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC), a Republican presidential candidate, has criticized Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and his state’s new standards on how Black history is taught in middle school. The standards include instruction on how “slaves developed skills” that “could be applied for their personal benefit.”

Rep. Byron Donalds (R-FL), the only Black Republican in Florida’s congressional delegation, had very softly criticized one line of Florida’s new Black history curriculum, to which the press secretary for the governor’s office responded by comparing Donalds to Vice President Kamala Harris.

At a town hall in suburban Des Moines, Scott was asked about the element of Florida’s new curriculum. He responded, “There is no silver lining” in slavery, adding that it was about “separating families, about mutilating humans and even raping their wives.”

Scott, who is the Senate’s only Black Republican, and the only Black presidential candidate, said that supposed conservatives in the federal government are pushing the same false narrative that originated from the White House. He suggested that Donalds should not “swing for the liberal media fences like Vice President Harris.”

Scott’s comments come as the Biden administration has been vocal in its criticism of the new standards, with Vice President Harris recently traveling to Florida to publicly condemn them. The standards have been widely condemned by civil rights groups, who argue that they are an attempt to whitewash the history of slavery.