‘No silver lining in slavery,’ SC’s Scott says in response to DeSantis’ Black history standards
Florida’s new Black history standards have caused uproar on both sides of the aisle. Most recently, with one of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ presidential competitors, U.S. Sen. Tim Scott.
On July 20, the Florida State Board of Education approved new Black history standards in public schools, which include suggestions that Black people who were enslaved benefited because they learned useful skills. In a 216 page document by the Florida Department of Education, the new standards include language that “slaves developed skills which, in some instances, could be applied for their personal benefit.”
At a campaign event Thursday evening in Ankeny, Iowa, Scott was asked about the new standards “There is no silver lining in slavery,” he said.
“As a country founded upon freedom, the greatest deprivation of freedom was slavery,” Scott said. “What slavery was really about was separating families, about mutilating humans and even raping their wives. It was just devastating. So I would hope that every person in our country, and certainly running for president, would appreciate that.”
Scott added “people have bad days,” to his response, and said “sometimes they regret what they say,” in reference to DeSantis. “And we should ask them again to clarify their positions.”
DeSantis responded to Scott’s comments Friday morning when speaking with reporters in Albia, Iowa, saying D.C Republicans “accept lies” and perpetuate Democratic talking points.
“I think part of the reason our country has struggled is because D.C. Republicans all too often accept false narratives, accept lies that are perpetrated by the left and accept the lie that Kamala Harris has been perpetrating, even when that has been debunked,” DeSantis said, according to NBC News.
“At the end of the day, you got to choose: Are you going to side with Kamala Harris and liberal media outlets, or are you going to side with the state of Florida?” DeSantis said at an earlier stop in Iowa. “I think it’s very clear that these guys did a good job on those standards. It wasn’t anything politically motivated.”
When news of the standards came out, Vice President Kamala Harris flew to Florida and denounced Florida’s decision, saying “extremists” in the state are pushing “propaganda to our children.” DeSantis has since said Harris is spreading a “hoax.”
“She’s here to push a fake narrative,” DeSantis said Tuesday in an interview with Fox News.
As the only Black Republican in the field, Scott’s response was a step in a different direction for his so-far friendly campaigning nature. Dubbed by some as the “Happy Warrior,” Scott has yet to really criticize his opponents, unlike many including DeSantis, Trump and even Haley, who have taken jabs at one another.
Elaine Kamarck, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, said Scott appears to have a different game plan, when The State reported on name-calling in the GOP race.
“He clearly is taking a page out of Ronald Reagan’s book and trying to be the optimistic, happy warrior who believes in America. His own success story is quite impressive,” Kamarck said. “So he’s trying to say, ‘Look, we’ve moved beyond that, we’re in a sort of post-racial era.’ And I think it’s quite compelling.”
Scott has campaigned on optimism when it comes to racial issues in America, pushing back against the idea of systemic racism and harping on the “why can’t we all get along” message. His response to Florida’s new standards may signify a boundary of where he lies on racial issues in America.
