EMAC Denounces Florida's HB 999/SB266

"With Florida, it’s hard to draw any other conclusion than they are actively trying to use the Asian American Pacific Islander community as a wedge here.”

Gregg Orton, National Director of National Council of Asian Pacific Americans in the article “DeSantis criticized for mandating Asian American history while banning courses on 'systemic racism’” by Kimmy Yam, NBC News 5/17/23.

EMAC stands in solidarity with the Black community and our AAPI allies to denounce Florida governor Ron DeSantis’ signing of Florida’s HB 999/SB 266 bill that restricts how race and gender can be taught in Florida's public higher education institutions and bans them from using state or federal funding for diversity programs.

Our AAPI history is interconnected and shaped with and by Black history and the history of all communities in our country. Our histories cannot be separated. A win for our AAPI community cannot be at the expense of others.

We believe we need more Ethnic Studies in our schools and universities that not only teach us the celebrations and triumphs in our history, but also does not shy away from teaching us about the structural inequities that have shaped our identities and communities today. Ignoring our histories don’t make things better. We must learn from our history so we don’t continue to make the same mistakes.

Read the full article: tinyurl.com/florida-hate