By Dr. Rosalind Osgood, Florida Senator Elect
In February 24, 2022 the Florida House of Representative passed HB7, the Individual Freedom Bill. This is an attack of democracy. Trump led the bill with the 1776 Commission, President Biden rescinded it, then the States adopted it. We are experiencing another egregious cycle of retaliation and backlash after our multiracial, multicultural response to George Floydâs murder. We have seen this all before. Specifically, during the Reconstruction era, followed by the American Civil War that struggled to redress the inequality of slavery. Then again, a Presidentâs veto of the Civil Rights bill that would have prohibited racial discrimination and provided equal opportunities to contract or own property, only for it be considered reverse discrimination.
Current State policy makers fail to identify the strong connections between Americaâs racial history and present-day inequality.
Race is significantly woven into the fabric of public policy, and implicitly impacts social structures that are vital to eradicate racial inequality.
HB 7 attempts to censor civil education that affects how, or if an educator discusses vital matters that relate to citizensâ duties and rights, to encompasses issues beyond K-12. Concepts that support division prevents students from learning the true American history. HB 7 disregards the critical consciousness of how racial literacy facilitates honest communication and breaks down the barriers that promote racial inequity and ineffective systems.
Southern States like Florida, Texas, Mississippi, Georgia North Carolina, and South Carolina utterly negates Americaâs founding principles of freedom and equality by perpetuating systematic exclusion.
A successful democracy requires full engagement of all its citizens, regardless of their race or creed. America is said to be the land of the free, to provide full access to serve the American democracy in its entirety. Voter suppression rights, or support of racial unfairness undermines the purpose of a democracy. A true racial reckoning is in order, and I will continue to disassemble anything that is averse to the growth and progression of a multiracial democracy.
The Supreme Courtâs decision in Brown made equal opportunity in education the law of the land, and I am determined to ensure that history lessons remain a priority of our students. As stated in Brown, public education is necessary to enhance citizen participation because education is the key to Democratic participation.
The Constitution states: âWe the people,â which includes everyone. The benefit of history affords us the opportunity to avoid repeating the past.
Although not legally binding, the preamble to the Declaration of Independence states â[t]hat
whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the
People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government . . .â As Floridaâs Senator
Elect, I am fully committed to uphold American unalienable rights to advance principles that affect the safety and happiness of the excluded and unjust, especially access to education. It is truly incumbent upon all public servants to always prioritize fair and equal treatment of all individuals, irrespective of race.
