The Florida Board of Education recently approved a new curriculum that includes a section on how "slaves developed skills which, in some instances, could be applied for their personal benefit." This particular section has faced significant backlash.
During a recent speech, Harris condemned this line, stating, "they decided middle school students will be taught that enslaved people benefited from slavery. They insult us in an attempt to gaslight us, and we will not stand for it."
Dr. William Allen, a former chairman of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights and a member of Florida's African American History Standards Workgroup, called Harris' assessment of the curriculum "categorically false." However, ABC News did not air these comments during their segment on Saturday's "ABC World News Tonight." Only a small portion of Allen's interview was shown, in which he defended the controversial line, stating, "It is the case that Africans proved resourceful, resilient, and adaptive, and were able to develop skills and aptitudes which served to their benefit both while enslaved and after enslavement."
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Jeremy Redfern, press secretary for Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, shared additional minutes from Allen's interview with ABC News through a series of tweets, highlighting Allen's response to Harris. Redfern stated, "Yesterday, @abcnews aired a very small section of their interview with a member of Florida's African American History Standards Workgroup, Dr. William B. Allen. Here's more of the interview, where Dr. Allen debunks @VP's narrative and calls her criticism 'categorically false.'"
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According to the audio released by Redfern, Allen told ABC News, "The only criticism I've encountered so far is a single one that was articulated by the vice president and which was an error. As I stated in my response to the vice president, it was categorically false."
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Allen clarified that the curriculum does not portray slavery as beneficial in itself, but rather highlights how African Americans demonstrated adaptability and resilience during a time of crisis. He emphasized, "It was never said that slavery was beneficial to Africans. What was said, and anyone who reads this will see this with clarity, is that Africans proved resourceful, resilient, and adaptive and were able to develop skills and aptitudes which served to their benefit, both while enslaved and after enslavement."
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When asked if the wording should be changed due to the controversy and confusion surrounding it, Allen, citing his own ancestry, firmly stated that it should not be amended. He explained, "I do not. No. I think it would be effectively erasing people's history. Let me illustrate that for you, if I may. My great-grandfather is someone who came from the islands and who was enslaved here and whose own resourcefulness, resilience, and adaptiveness was certainly instrumental in producing for his family, his descendants, the ability to prosper here in this country."
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Allen further emphasized his point by referencing the wording of the curriculum, stating, "Hence, from his resourcefulness, we derive benefits. I think anyone who would try to change that language would be denying that great-grandfather Cidipus made any contribution. I certainly could not endorse doing that."
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He reiterated that the course material focuses on resilience and adaptability in the face of oppression, rather than submission to it. Allen explained, "We're talking about the experience of oppression and how people respond to the experience of oppression, and we want people to recognize that there's an opposite to Stockholm Syndrome. People don't necessarily simply embrace their oppressors when they're oppressed. They also react adaptively and find ways to make pathways for themselves even in the presence of oppression. That's what calls upon their resourcefulness, their resilience, and their adaptability."
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As the interview concluded, Allen took another swipe at Harris for making claims without having read the actual course materials. He encouraged everyone to take the time to read the curriculum, stating, "I just want to foster and encourage everyone to take the time to read, or as I said in my response to the vice president, I think every intellect can understand the language written there if people only take the time to read it. It's only those who don't take the time to read it who will misstate it."
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