Harris made the decision after accusing Florida of obscuring the true horrors of slavery. Speaking at the 20th Women's Missionary Society of the African Methodist Episcopal Church Quadrennial Convention in Orlando, Harris dismissed DeSantis' proposal to address the concerns surrounding Florida's history education.
In her speech on Tuesday, Harris stated, "They attempt to legitimize these unnecessary debates with a proposal that most recently came in of a politically motivated roundtable." She further emphasized, "Well, I'm here in Florida, and I will tell you there is no roundtable, no lecture, no invitation we will accept to debate an undeniable fact. There were no redeeming qualities of slavery."
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DeSantis had extended the invitation to Harris in response to her claims that Florida classrooms would downplay the negative impacts of slavery. The new instruction on Black history in Florida includes a component that discusses how slaves developed skills that could be applied for their personal benefit, which has faced criticism from some quarters.
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In a letter sent on Monday, DeSantis, who is seeking the Republican nomination for the 2024 presidential election, highlighted Florida's status as the top state in the nation for education and emphasized his commitment to teaching truth rather than partisan narratives. He also mentioned the elimination of initiatives such as Critical Race Theory and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion from the state's classrooms, focusing instead on core subjects like reading, writing, arithmetic, science, civics, and history.
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DeSantis accused politicians in Washington, D.C., of maligning Florida and its residents, asserting that the Biden administration has repeatedly disparaged the state and spread misinformation about its education system.
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Responding to a question from Fox News Digital, DeSantis stated, "[Harris] came to Florida to attack us, and she's trying to attack me. But she's really attacking the people that worked hard on this and have done a lot of yeoman's work. And so that's just wrong. I think it's wrong to let lies be perpetuated. It's wrong to let false narratives stand."
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