Florida Travel Advisory Called ‘Divine Intervention’ Ahead of DeSantis’ ‘24 Announcement
Republican expected to jump into the race for president this week
That the NAACP issued a stunning formal travel advisory that warns Black Americans not to visit Florida, the same week as an expected announcement of Republican Gov Ron DeSantis’ bid for president may be a case of “divine intervention,” according to a top official for the civil rights organization in the Sunshine State.
One of the nation's most prominent civil rights groups, the NAACP released a warning to Black Americans to stay away from Florida in response to what the organization described as DeSantis' “aggressive attempts to erase Black history and to restrict diversity, equity, and inclusion programs in Florida schools.”
The civil rights organization is the latest to caution travelers against visiting Florida; the League of United Latin American Citizens and LGBTQ advocacy group Equality Florida previously issued travel advisories.
The NAACP advisory came just days ahead of an official announcement by DeSantis that he is running for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination.
That coincidence was not planned by NAACP leadership, according to a top official of the group in Florida.
“Well, in actuality, the state of Florida voted unanimously to ask the National Board of Directors to issue the advisory. Quite frankly, our annual NAACP national board meeting is held in May every year. The earliest it could have been done would have been May 20, this past weekend, so this was the earliest time it could be done,” said Marsha Ellison, president of the Ft Lauderdale/Broward NAACP and civic engagement chairwoman of the state NAACP. “So maybe it’s divine intervention instead of coincidence.”
Asked during an on-camera appearance on CNN why, if DeSantis is hostile to Black Americans he was reelected governor last fall with about 60 percent of the vote, Ellison replied, “Well, a lot of, for example, Black voters, if you check the numbers, we’re not particularly excited about any of the candidates, and so many of them stayed home. Our objective is to make sure that they are educated on the issues and show up come 2024.
“So that is kind of a thing that we have to work on as far as education. So we are speaking for folk who don’t necessarily believe they have a voice and that are under attack, and that is certainly the African American community,” she added.
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