TALAHASSEE, Fla. — A core mission of Florida A&M University has been dedicated to educating African Americans since its founding more than a century ago. It was in the law that established the school along with another university, in Gainesville, reserved for white students.
At Florida's only public historically black university, some students now fear that political restrictions could get in the way of teaching parts of their history.
A law signed last spring by Gov. Ron DeSantis, a Republican presidential candidate, prevents public colleges from using taxpayer money for diversity programs. It also prohibits teaching theories that “systemic racism, sexism, oppression, and privilege are inherent in the institutions of the United States and are created to perpetuate social, political, and economic inequality.”
The new law, part of broader efforts by the Republican Party to rein in equity and inclusivity efforts on campus, has sparked protests on campus. Some students say they are watching for signs that the new guidelines will affect teaching topics related to race and American history.
Chad Preston, a political science major, said he worries some viewpoints will be silenced.
“We deserve the same level of education as all these other states. We deserve the same information,” he said.
DeSantis describes the law as an attempt to rid college classrooms of what he calls left-wing “woke” indoctrination. His education policies — including restrictions on what schools can teach about racism and which restrooms students use — faced criticism from civil rights leaders but fueled his political rise by tapping into culture war passions.
“In reality, this concept of DEI has been an attempt to impose orthodoxy on the university,” DeSantis said at a ceremony in May when he signed the bill. “This has actually been used as a veneer to impose an ideological agenda, and that is wrong.”
Founded in 1887, the university is home to approximately 10,000 students on its campus a few blocks from the capital.
The new law has made Florida a difficult learning environment for students and faculty of color, said Marybeth Gasman, a Rutgers University historian whose research focuses on historically black colleges and universities and systemic racism in higher education.
“I've talked to some faculty at FAMU who basically told me they're keeping their heads down because they're afraid they're going to lose their jobs,” Gasman said. “If I was in Florida, I'd probably be concerned too.”
FAMU has not seen unrest anywhere near the scale of New College of Florida, a progressive campus where DeSantis and his allies have overhauled the Board of Trustees and installed a majority of conservative figures. But many on the FAMU campus are wary.
Asked about the impact of the new law, a university spokesperson referred to a comment from Florida A&M that President Larry Robinson made in June.
“There have been more than 30 bills passed this legislative session that have some impact on Florida educational institutions, including FAMU, and we take them all seriously,” Robinson said. “But our commitment to 'Excellence With Caring' remains strong and unchanged.”
In early December, the board that oversees Florida's state university system released proposed regulations outlining programs that would not be allowed to receive state or federal money under the new law. Excluded programs include those that “promote differential or preferential treatment of individuals, or classify such individuals on the basis of race, color, sex, national origin, gender identity, or sexual orientation.”
The FAMU Democrats have taken steps to ensure that the messages of the speakers they invite to campus are moderate, said Jovan Mickens, a senior and president of the student faction.
“With my organization, there are certain things I can't do, like bringing certain people to campus for a panel discussion. We tiptoe around this university,” he said.
Historically, black colleges and universities often receive less funding than predominantly white public colleges. A group of FAMU students have filed a lawsuit against the state, alleging it underfunded their school by nearly $1.3 billion.
But for public college leaders, pushing back on policies they disagree with could put them in conflict with the same officials who decide their budgets, said Abul Pitre, chair of the Africana Studies department at San Francisco State University.
“It requires a certain kind of balance that doesn't allow them to have too much of an Afrocentric perspective on social justice because they have to go for money to the same politicians who are advocating for its abolition,” he said.
Raghan Pickett, a senior at FAMU, traces her lineage back to Rosewood, Florida, where hundreds of black people were murdered or displaced in 1923 by a gang of white men who then destroyed their neighborhoods. She fears the new law could deter instructors from teaching about such atrocities.
“Back then it was a fear of being lynched,” Pickett said. “Today, black people are still struggling. We are still fighting to learn the basic history.”
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