GET ME REWRITE: Ron DeSantis visits Jacksonville to reap the seeds of hate he sowed as governor

 

Top headline:  PBS, 8/29/2023

Bottom headline:  NBC News, 8/28/2023

From PBS:

Just three months later, DeSantis is leading his state through the aftermath of a racist attack that left three African Americans dead. Black leaders in Florida — and across the nation — say they’re outraged by his actions and rhetoric ahead of the shooting. 

“Gov. DeSantis has created and pushed a narrative of division and hate that is anti-Black,” said Rev. Jeffrey Rumlin, pastor of The Dayspring Church in Jacksonville, where three Black people were gunned down at a Dollar General store over the weekend by a white man with a swastika emblazoned on his assault rifle. 

Rumlin criticized DeSantis for not explicitly describing the killer as a racist at a Sunday vigil in Jacksonville. DeSantis was booed at the vigil, where he called the shooter “a major-league scumbag” and said, “We are not going to let people be targeted based on their race.”

From NBC News:

In May, the NAACP even issued a travel advisory for the state of Florida, over DeSantis' "aggressive attempts to erase Black history and to restrict diversity, equity and inclusion programs." “How much can we allow the governor to keep his foot on our neck and not say anything?” said state Sen. Shevrin Jones, a Miami Democrat who is Black. 

“This is the result of that stuff. It’s not only the result, but it gives individuals who committed this act a hall pass to make it seem like it’s OK.” 

Issues of race and education are part of a broader culture war agenda that has defined DeSantis' time in office and been a hallmark of his 2024 presidential campaign. The agenda regularly has him at odds with civil rights leaders who say his “war on wokeness” is a thinly veiled attempt to go after people of color and other marginalized communities in the state.