GOP Congressman Byron Daniels Asks Florida To ‘Correct’ Slavery Standards

While agreeing with most of the revisions on how Florida schools will teach Black History, Rep. Byron Donalds, a Black Republican in Florida, drew the line at its latest suggestion for slavery.

The controversial standard states enslaved people could have transferred skills acquired in slave labor to personal use, suggesting that enslavement was of some benefit to them.

In a tweet, he urged the education department to “correct” the issue. The suggestion slavery was of any good to those who were enslaved was too much for the conservative leader.

The new African-American standards in FL are good, robust, & accurate. That being said, the attempt to feature the personal benefits of slavery is wrong & needs to be adjusted. That obviously wasn't the goal & I have faith that FLDOE will correct this.https://t.co/muq8zi1p85

— Congressman Byron Donalds (@RepDonaldsPress) July 26, 2023

While still agreeing the standards were “good, robust and accurate,” Donalds made sure to distance himself from the benchmark that slavery had any “personal benefits.”

“That being said, the attempt to feature the personal benefits of slavery is wrong & needs to be adjusted,” Rep. Donalds elaborated. “That obviously wasn’t the goal & I have faith that FLDOE will correct this.”

The congressman has been vocal about his opposition to the specific benchmark as Florida makes controversial changes to how they approach Black History subjects in their statewide school system.

In conversation with WINK, he made his stance on U.S. slavery clear,

“Slavery was terrible in our country. It was terrible for for Black people coming to America, and it was just flat-out wrong, no doubt about that.”

“To me, yes, that section needs some adjustments,” he added. “The talking point narrative around it, yeah, it sounds awful. Like nobody should be accepting of that, but when you read through the standards, they actually did a very good job in covering all aspects of Black history in the United States.”

He said only “refinement” needed to the newly modified Black history section of Florida’s school curriculum, stating there’s no way to rephrase slavery in any positive light.

While he is not as opposed as Vice President Kamala Harris, who referred to the guidelines as an “insult” and “revisionist history,” Donalds is hopeful that students will grasp that slavery had no redeeming qualities.