Churches are stepping in to teach Black history after Florida Governor Ron DeSantis introduced requirements for schools to teach that slaves benefited from slavery.
The controversial policy, which has drawn harsh criticism, requires teachers to instruct middle-school students that enslaved people “developed skills which, in some instances, could be applied for their personal benefit. Instead concerned parents and residents are going to their churches to learn about the history of Black Americans. There, they can even access material in books removed from school shelves.
One such church is New Shiloh Missionary Baptist Church, Florida. Drawing on a long history of churches as key players in the Civil Rights Movement, Pastor Alphonso Jackson, Jr. teaches his own lessons. He told NBC: “My initial reaction was of disbelief. But then it turned to anger.”
