It’s a “B History” miracle! Yesterday, we wrote on about students at Florida A&M University’s College of Law being told that they couldn’t use the word “Black” to advertise Black History Month and related events. The worry was that doing so would be in violation Florida Senate Bill 266 requiring that no funding go to “DEI” events. It is understandably difficult to know what is and isn’t “DEI” when your language is being policed by an insufferable bunch that don’t realize diversity is everywhere. Especially when it comes to history — people will look you in the eye and tell you that lessons about the Spanish-speaking Christopher Columbus who discovered America (he didn’t) aren’t DEI, but as soon as you speak Spanish at an American event, it is regarded as some terrible and offensive DEI takeover.
As understandable as it was regrettable, the school erred on the side of safety when it came to Black History Month. After getting their dirt aired out for the last three days, the school changed their tune. Florida Today has coverage:
[T]hree days after the university shared an initial statement emphasizing its compliance with state law in a television news report about the matter, FAMU President Marva Johnson and the College of Law’s Interim Dean Cecil Howard each released statements Feb. 9 saying the word “Black” is not a violation but was instead a misinterpretation of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) laws that FAMU and other universities across the state have been abiding by these past few years.
Cue the music!
Jokes aside, this is a Black and White (okay, just one more joke) example of how the backlash against DEI operates as either an explicit or implicit chill on free speech. Let’s not forget that Black History Month — originally Negro History Week — started as a way to spread awareness of Black folks’ “beautiful history and…inspire us to greater achievements.” Color blind policies and overzealous attempts to conform to them have concrete racial effects like angering and frustrating a group of students that wanted to do little more than implement some community organization and inspiration. Schools shouldn’t have to worry about their funding getting cut because a Black History Month flyer mentions that a Black man invented personal computers and blood transfusions or that Black women are why we made it to the moon first or have MRIs that can detect breast cancer or that Black trans folks have been fighting for our civil rights for centuries or are moving on the cutting edge of tech, or and or ad infinitum.
This is a small, local win for FAMU. It is also a victory for all the other HBCUs and their students that have graduated, are enrolled, and will enroll in the future. The country wins, too. All of our histories are wrapped up in one another’s — no amount of removing installations in Philadelphia can change that. There is a clear line that links censoring speech, history, and identity in service to a petrified, monumental history that lives in fear of truth, change, and a healthy sense of self that contains multitudes. But enough about everyone who opted to watch Kid Rock lip sync over the Bad Bunny Bowl. Go Seahawks!
FAMU Leaders Say ‘Black’ Word Ban For Black History Month Was An Error [Florida Today]
Earlier: HBCU Law School Not Allowed To Use The Word ‘Black’ For Black History Month Event
Chris Williams became a social media manager and assistant editor for Above the Law in June 2021. Prior to joining the staff, he moonlighted as a minor Memelord™ in the Facebook group Law School Memes for Edgy T14s . He endured Missouri long enough to graduate from Washington University in St. Louis School of Law. He is a former boatbuilder who is learning to swim, is interested in critical race theory, philosophy, and humor, and has a love for cycling that occasionally annoys his peers. You can reach him by email at cwilliams@abovethelaw.com and by tweet at @WritesForRent.
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