DeSantis’s crusade to ban CRT isn't merely a spectacle designed to get his face on Fox News — it is an attack on a theory that helps explain how, without doing or saying anything racist, he's systematically disempowered Black people. jonathanchait writes
The irony is that critical race theory happens to be an excellent intellectual framework for understanding DeSantis himself.
I want to be very clear that I am not calling DeSantis a racist. There is no reason to believe he harbors any personal dislike toward Black people or believes they are genetically inferior or privately employs slurs or stereotypes. In 2018, he stirred up controversy by warning that electing his Black opponent as governor would “monkey it up” but insisted he had used the phrase thoughtlessly, rather than maliciously, and deserves the benefit of the doubt.
Many states in the former Confederacy enacted lifetime bans on voting by ex-felons during and immediately after Reconstruction, when they were seeking ways to disenfranchise Black people without violating the 15th Amendment. This provision leveraged the judicial system, which prosecuted Black people at much higher rates than white people. As a result, asnoted in 2014, Black people have been removed from the electorate at a rate four times higher than white people.
Last year, DeSantis strong-armed his party into enacting an aggressive new congressional map that dramatically reduced the representation of Black voters. Two districts that had elected Black Democrats to Congress were broken up and scattered. One district, populated by descendants of Black sharecroppers and slaves, was broken up into four pieces, each scattered into a mostly white, heavily Republican district in which the Black vote would have little influence.
Australia Latest News, Australia Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Clarence Page: Can Black History Month survive Gov. Ron DeSantis’ ‘anti-woke’ politics?Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis says his “anti-woke” campaign is not aimed at unraveling Black history studies. But how many will take the time to learn the difference?
Read more »
Black History Month 2023 theme highlights Black resistance in AmericaEvery year, the Association for the Study of African American Life and History (ASALH) chooses the theme for Black History Month.
Read more »
Opinion: Why diesel cars are still needed in 2023 | AutocarAmidst rising prices at the black pump, our road tester _rlane_ explains why he thinks diesel cars still have their place in 2023
Read more »
Ron DeSantis’ Secret Twitter Army of Far-Right InfluencersEXCLU: According to five Republicans, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis's top lieutenants have recruited conservative social media influencers in an attempt to circumvent the mainstream press and appeal directly to GOP primary voters nationwide.
Read more »