NAPLES, Fla. — Florida Congressman Byron Donalds (R-Naples) said he wants Florida's Department of Education to "correct" its new history standards requiring middle school students to learn "how slaves developed skills which, in some instances, could be applied for their personal benefit."
Donalds posted a statement on social media saying that while he thought the new Black history standards were "good, robust, & accurate" overall, the inclusion of the potential benefits of slavery is "wrong and needs to be adjusted."
"Slavery was terrible in our country," Donalds said in an interview with WINK News. "It was terrible for Black people coming to America, and it was just flat out wrong, no doubt about that."
Donalds added that he would personally speak to the State Board of Education to try to get them to "bring refinement" to that section of the standards, and he expressed confidence students would get the right message from the history standards.
"At the end of the day, if you read what is in there now, it's crystal clear to me that slavery was one of the darkest stains on our country, no doubt. There's no way to get around that."
Donalds' remarks drew backlash from Florida officials. Gov. Ron DeSantis' aide Christina Pushaw responded to Donalds' social media statement with a post saying, "Did Kamala Harris write this tweet?"
DeSantis spokesperson Jeremy Redfin also compared Donalds to Vice President Kamala Harris, accusing him of "swinging for the liberal media fences like @VP."
Florida Education Commissioner Manny Diaz added in a social media post, "We will not back down from teaching our nation's true history at the behest of a woke White House, nor at the behest of a supposedly conservative congressman."
Byron Donalds is a member of the far-right House Freedom Caucus. He endorsed former President Donald Trump for president, and he ran as a GOP alternative to Kevin McCarthy for House Speaker after the 2022 midterm elections.