[A federal judge in Florida partially blocked a law championed by
Gov. Ron DeSantis designed to limit the discussion of racism and
privilege in schools and workplace training.]
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WITH A NOD TO ‘1984,’ A FEDERAL JUDGE BLOCKS FLORIDA’S
ANTI-‘WOKE’ LAW IN COLLEGES  
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Becky Sullivan
November 18, 2022
NPR
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_ A federal judge in Florida partially blocked a law championed by
Gov. Ron DeSantis designed to limit the discussion of racism and
privilege in schools and workplace training. _

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis championed the bill that is designed to
limit the discussion of racism and privilege in classrooms and
workplaces., Giorgio Viera/AFP via Getty Images

 

A federal judge in Florida partially blocked a law championed by Gov.
Ron DeSantis designed to limit the discussion of racism and privilege
in schools and workplace training.

In a 139-page order issued Thursday, Tallahassee U.S. District Judge
Mark Walker excoriated the Republican-led bill and blocked it from
taking effect in the state's public universities.

"The State of Florida's decision to choose which viewpoints are worthy
of illumination and which must remain in the shadows has implications
for us all," Walker wrote. "But the First Amendment does not permit
the State of Florida to muzzle its university professors, impose its
own orthodoxy of viewpoints, and cast us all into the dark."

The legislation, previously called the Stop W.O.K.E. Act – the
acronym standing for "Wrongs to Our Kids and Employees" – is now
known as the Individual Freedom Act. DeSantis signed the bill into law
this spring; it initially took effect in July.

The bill prohibits schools and workplaces from any instruction that
suggests that any individual, by virtue of their race, color, sex or
national origin, "bears responsibility for and must feel guilt,
anguish or other forms of psychological distress
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on account of historical acts of racism. The bill also forbids
education or training that says individuals are "privileged or
oppressed" due to their race or sex.

Critics say the bill is designed to prevent schools and workplaces
from discussing racism. In August, a group of eight Florida professors
sued representatives of the state higher education system over the
bill, calling the legislation "racially motivated censorship" aimed at
stifling "widespread demands to discuss, study and address systemic
inequalities."

Critical race theory is a decades-old academic framework that examines
how racism helped to shape institutions and traditions that exist
today.

The idea was once confined to law school seminars. But over the past
two years, the term has become a catch-all shorthand for a variety of
conservative bugaboos: workplace diversity trainings, protests over
police brutality and high school history lessons.

DeSantis began pushing for the bill last December
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"In Florida we are taking a stand against the state-sanctioned racism
that is critical race theory," he said in a press release announcing
the proposal. "We won't allow Florida tax dollars to be spent teaching
kids to hate our country or to hate each other."

The bill is one of the most strident state legislature entries in the
conservative culture wars over schools. Florida lawmakers passed it
alongside the Parental Rights in Education Act
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the "Don't Say Gay" bill by critics
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which bans classroom instruction involving sexual orientation or
gender identity in kindergarten through third grade.

In his order, Judge Walker, an Obama appointee, opened by reciting the
first sentence of _1984_, George Orwell's novel about life under a
futuristic totalitarian government.

"'It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking
thirteen,' and the powers in charge of Florida's public university
system have declared the State has unfettered authority to muzzle its
professors in the name of 'freedom,'" the judge wrote. "This is
positively dystopian."

Thursday's ruling is the second legal setback for the law. An August
ruling, also by Walker, blocked another part of the bill that targeted
workplace diversity practices. The law faces another challenge by K-12
teachers.

DeSantis' office is expected to appeal the decision.

_BECKY SULLIVAN has reported and produced for NPR since 2011 with a
focus on hard news and breaking stories. She has been on the ground to
cover natural disasters, disease outbreaks, elections and protests,
delivering stories to both broadcast and digital platforms._

_In January 2020, she traveled to Tehran to help cover the
assassination and funeral of Iranian military leader Qassem Soleimani,
work that made NPR a Pulitzer finalist that year. Her work covering
the death of Breonna Taylor won an Edward R. Murrow Award for Hard
News._

_Sullivan has spoken to armed service members in Afghanistan on the
anniversary of Sept. 11, reported from a military parade in Pyongyang
for coverage of the regime of Kim Jong-Un, visited hospitals and
pregnancy clinics in Colombia to cover the outbreak of Zika and
traveled Haiti to report on the aftermath of natural disasters. She's
also reported from around the U.S., including Hurricane Michael in
Florida and the mass shooting in San Bernardino._

_She previously worked as a producer for All Things Considered, where
she regularly led the broadcast and produced high-profile newsmaker
interviews. Sullivan led NPR's special coverage of the 2018 midterm
elections, multiple State of the Union addresses and other special and
breaking news coverage._

_Originally a Kansas Citian, Sullivan also regularly brings coverage
of the Midwest and Great Plains region to NPR._

_Protect journalism. Get podcast perks. _

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deserve it._

* Ron DeSantis
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* Florida
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* legislation
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* Freedom of Speech
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* Racism
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* Education
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