Dr. Peggy Jones Declared Her Reelection Campaign on False Racial Charges Made by The Whitehouse Against the FL Dept. of Education
Aided by misinformation about Florida’s African American history standards, Dr. Jones, in coordination with IRC-NAACP, pursued damaging politics.
In the last five months of 2023, after the Biden administration politically attempted to divide Florida along racial lines using Vice President Harris’ ignorant remarks about Florida’s African American History Standards, the local chapter of the NAACP with the help of school board member, Peggy Jones, led a failed political and media strategy to convince Indian River residents that the DeSantis administration wants to teach students that “slaves benefited from slavery.”
The ongoing political fight about African American History stemmed from the national NAACP who, earlier in the year, fought against the directive of the Florida Department of Education (FLDOE) to remove the African American AP curriculum authored by the College Board. Harris’ speech was attended by CEO of the NAACP, Derrick Johnson, who on May 20, 2023, called for a “travel ban” of African Americans to Florida over the removal of the AP curriculum. His travel noticed stated, “Florida is openly hostile to African Americans.” Johnson lives in Tampa Bay.
At a January 2023 Leon County (Tallahassee) Commission meeting, Democrat Commissioner and Professor of African American Studies and Political Science at Florida A&M, Dr. Bill Proctor, remarked about the College Board AP course. He said, “It’s trash. It’s not African American history. It’s ideology.” In an interview with Fox News, Dr. Proctor shared how far the scholarship strayed “from the norm,” and “was way off course,” asking, “How can you talk about African American history and not talk about economics?”
In defense of the DeSantis administration’s decision to reject the College Board, he noted the AP course was missing many individual biographies and robust examinations of history including of the 13th, 14th and 15th amendments. He shared that he sent a letter to DeSantis proposing a committee to create state standards. Ultimately, it was created with the help of the FLDOE’s African American History Task Force.
The 13 person committee, comprised of African American university professors, and, public school teachers and curriculum administrators of various race, produced the Social Studies Standards. As part of the FLDOE’s 216 page document, African American History Standards were inaugurated into a separate strand, expanding immensely due to the passage of House Bill 7 - Stop the Wrongs to Our Kids and Employees Act (Stop WOKE) in 2022. At the center of the debate is a clarification of one standard in the 21 pages of the strand.
It reads:
THE FLORIDA STANDARD SS.68.AA.2.3: "Examine the various duties and trades performed by slaves (e.g., agricultural work, painting, carpentry, tailoring, domestic service, blacksmithing, transportation). - Clarification 1: Instruction includes how slaves developed skills which, in some instances, could be applied for their personal benefit.
Compare the standard to the College Board AP “Essential Knowledge” component which is very similar. It reads:
THE COLLEGE BOARD'S AP AA STUDIES EK 2.8.A.4: “In addition to agricultural work, enslaved people learned specialized trades and worked as painters, carpenters, tailors, musicians, and healers in the North and South. Once free, African Americans used these skills to provide for themselves and others.”
Harris’ inflammatory remarks came after the FLDOE released the standards in July, and almost two months after DeSantis announced his presidential run on May 24, 2023. Her accusations were without intellectual merit and meant solely to create opposition to his candidacy. She stated, “…they want to replace history with lies. Middle school students in Florida to be told that enslaved people benefited from slavery.”
Harris’ remarks detonated a political firestorm around the country particularly in Florida. Local print media permitted the distortion of the Florida standard. Owned by the USA Today Network, TC Palm editors have allowed the misquoting of the standard on multiple occasions saying it reads, “slaves benefited from slavery.” See here, here and here.
Locally, Dr. Jones made it the focal issue to launch her campaign for reelection in 2024 complete with a full endorsement by 32963 / Vero News. In an August 1, 2023 letter to FLDOE Commissioner, Manny Diaz, she wrote, “I also reviewed your letter to the Superintendents when you stated President Biden and Vice-President Harris, and Education Secretary Miguel Cardona, were all wrong in their interpretations of this standard. They are not wrong.”
Having previously endorsed the College Board’s curriculum, President of the IRC-NAACP, Tony Brown rejected a public comment claim at the August 28, 2023 school board meeting that he backed the College AP Essential Knowledge component EK 2.8.A.4 (See here). His NAACP chapter did on four previous occasions (here, here, here and here) once describing the matter in a graphic on their Facebook page as "the FLDOE whitesplaining of Black studies.”
Ten days after Harris’ speech, the IRC-NAACP had a member meeting that was attended by Dr. Jones and board member, Teri Barenborg centered on the controversial standard. It was not publicly announced. The following IRC-NAACP town hall on August 21, 2023 was a coordinated political event for media and to recruit people to join the IRC-NAACP. Along with FOX 29 and print journalists, Dr. Jones was present for the whole town hall.
During the townhall which this reporter attended as a citizen, President Brown, declared, “the Ocoee and Rosewood Massacres were not being taught….” He also stated, “only African American History books were being banned,” and, “we are fighting against a high level of racism.” He also made a statement of full defense for IRC-NAACP Education Chairman, Kevin Browning, who was terminated by the City of Fort Pierce for racial prejudice remarks against Indian River County residents and lewd comments about women. Dr. Jones remained silent during these statements.
To not teach the Ocoee Massacre in Florida is against the law signed by Governor DeSantis in 2020, HB 1213 - Education Instruction of Historical Events. Along with proper Holocaust instruction, the bill included the in-depth teaching requirements of the Ocoee Massacre of November 2, 1920. The legislation summarizes the events of that day and even sets aside an appropriation “that may exceed $100,000” for historical markers in Ocoee, FL, the naming of streets, public buildings and the curriculum. The Social Studies Standards clearly refer to Ocoee, Rosewood and multiple events under the standard, SS.912.AA.3.6 - “Describe the emergence, growth, destruction and rebuilding of black communities during Reconstruction and beyond.”
Reached by The Sunshine Journal via LinkedIn, Dr. Frances Presley Rice who sat on the Social Studies committee and is a noted documentarian of Black History, deferred to the response of Dr. Richard Allen who voluntarily led the committee. Dr. Allen is a retired Professor Emeritus of Political Philosophy and the US Constitution at Michigan State University. He is also a former chair of the US Commission on Civil Rights. In an interview with ABC, Dr. Allen closed with a specific request. He said, “I think every intellect can understand the language written there if people will only take the time to read it. And it's only those who don't take the time to read it, who will misstate it.”
In the past, Dr. Jones has represented the positions of the IRC-NAACP without giving merit to the facts on issues. Against the directive of the FLDOE, Dr. Jones had just recently failed in her argument to keep Policy 2260.02- Racial Equity Policy, that required the Superintendent to look at the district through “a system wide racial equity lens.” The policy’s purpose was “to confront the institutional racism” allegedly in the School District of Indian River County.