BY HISTORIANS AGAINST THE WAR (H-PAD)

Right now, public education on all levels in Florida and the rights of the state’s population are under attack by forces led by Governor Ron DeSantis. The governor’s “Anti-Wokeness” campaign threatens to eviscerate honest teaching of United States history and force people of color and the trans and LGBTQ+ communities to the margins of society.

A March 3 letter from the Council of the American Historical Association, makes clear the stakes—that Governor DeSantis and his legislative super-majority are engaged in “a hostile takeover of a state’s system of higher education….[a] blatant and frontal attack on principles of academic freedom and shared governance central to higher education in the United States.” Further, as the AHA Council emphasizes, “This is not only about Florida. It is about the heart and soul of public higher education in the United States and about the role of history, historians, and historical thinking in the lives of the next generation of Americans.”

Resistance to this campaign is growing, however, and at the center of the fight is the United Faculty of Florida (UFF) and its allies. Paul Ortiz, a historian at the University of Florida and president of its UFF chapter, and Sharon Austin, a political scientist at UF who was barred from testifying to the state legislature and is suing the state, are key leaders in this resistance. H-PAD is proud to host an online forum, “How Should We Fight the Right? Lessons From Florida with Professors Ortiz and Austin,” at 7:00 p.m. eastern time on Tuesday, April 11. Please use the link to register if you’d like to attend.