Gov. Ron Desantis refuses to honor Black Florida historical figures

Get the Point!

In 2020, The (Florida) Governor’s Medal of Freedom was established "to recognize any person who has made an especially meritorious contribution to the interests and citizens of the state, its culture, or other significant public or private endeavor." Counting today's announcement, Florida Gov. Ron Desantis has honored the following Floridians over the past five years:

Governor Bob Graham

Governor Buddy McKay

Sen. John Thrasher

U.S. Rep. Lincoln Diaz-Balart

Musician Jimmy Buffett

Coach Bobby Bowden

Felix I. Rodríguez-Mendigutía

Barbara Nicklaus

Benjamin Ferencz

While each of those so honored is extremely well qualified for such laudatory praise, GLARINGLY absent is the fact that not ONE single Black Floridian has been deemed worthy for inclusion by Mr. Desantis.

Desantis speaking at Florida A&M, the state’s sole public HBCU, earlier this year…

True to my quiz bowl past, I can quickly name without the aid of Google:

Lawyer/Poet/Musician James Weldon Johnson

U.S. Rep. Carrie Meek (D-Miami)

Civil Rights leader Rev. C.K. Steele

Civil Rights leader Patricia Stephens Due

Newspaper Publisher T. Thomas Fortune

Coach Jake Gaither

Educator Dr. Mary M. Bethune

FAMU President Benjamin Perry

FAMU President Walter Smith

FAMU President Frederick Humphries

Coach Nathaniel "Traz" Powell

Olympian Robert "Bullet" Bob Hayes

NFL Hall of Famer Kenneth Riley

Wimbledon champion Althea Gibson

Writer/Anthropologist Zora Neale Hurston

Sculptor Augusta Savage

Academy Award winner Sidney Poitier

Politician Thomas Gibbs

Florida Supreme Court Justice Leander Shaw

U.S. District Judge Stephan Mickle

Again, those are but a few legendary Black Floridians that sprang to mind right off the top of my head, but it seems that Desantis is so busy "making Florida a place where woke dies" while eliminating DEI and Affirmative Action in all forms, that he dishonors Black men and women who persevered and excelled in their fields in spite of Florida's slavery, Confederacy, and virulently racist Jim Crow legacies.

Now, I will never be the type of man who will dishonor my ancestors by begging Desantis or any politician in any political party to acknowledge Florida's rich Black history, but I make note of these slights to hold a mirror up so that the "see no racism, hear no racism" MAGAs in Florida and across our nation who refuse to acknowledge Black intellectual, professional, moral, and spiritual achievements can see their deplorable reflections...