Sen. Tim Scott, a Republican presidential candidate, slammed Ron DeSantis, one of his rivals for the GOP presidential nomination, for supporting Florida education standards that require students be taught about the benefits of slavery.
Politico reported that Scott, a South Carolina Republican, made his comments about the Florida governor during a campaign appearance outside of Des Moines, Iowa, on Thursday.
The news outlet noted the Florida standards are backed by DeSantis. They require instructors to teach middle schoolers that "slaves developed skills which, in some instances, could be applied for their personal benefit."
"There is no silver lining in slavery," Scott said. "Slavery was really about separating families, about mutilating humans, and even raping their wives. It was just devastating."
The requirement has been criticized by a wide political spectrum ranging from Vice President Kamala Harris to Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Fla.
Other Black leaders have joined in condemning Florida for its new framework for how Black history will be taught
NAACP President and CEO Derrick Johnson called Florida's education laws "an attempt to bring our country back to a 19th century America where Black life was not valued, nor our rights protected."
"It is imperative that we understand that the horrors of slavery and Jim Crow were a violation of human rights and represent the darkest period in American history," he said in a statement.
Politico reported DeSantis has maintained that the educational requirement has been misrepresented by his political opponents.
Scott said that any of the benefits the curriculum suggested for enslaved people would have come from free people.
But Scott, noting that "people have bad days," suggested that DeSantis may have regretted defending the curriculum. He urged reporters to ask the Florida governor again about his thoughts on the policy, Politico reported.
Jeffrey Rodack ✉
Jeffrey Rodack, who has nearly a half century in news as a senior editor and city editor for national and local publications, has covered politics for Newsmax for nearly seven years.
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