MSNBC host Joy Reid suggested in a tweet that Governor Ron DeSantis (R-FL) was “extra sick” for making black children hold signs opposing Critical Race Theory — which advocates for all issues to be viewed through the lens of race and its intersection with other aspects of society.
Reid claimed that DeSantis was “anti-black” and suggested that the only reason any black child would be at an event for the Florida Republican was that they were not told why they were really there.
A Friday tweet from Florida State Senator Shevrin Jones (D) was what apparently set Reid off — “The fact that @GovRonDeSantis had these Black young men, who are not clear on this message, holding up a sign about something they know nothing about is the real indoctrination,” he said.
Jones gave no explanation to back up his claims that the children were made to hold the signs or that they were “not clear on this message.”
The fact that @GovRonDeSantis had these Black young men, who are not clear on this message, holding up a sign about something they know nothing about is the real indoctrination. pic.twitter.com/YE8Y4Yv3Yt
— Shevrin “Shev” Jones (@ShevrinJones) April 22, 2022
Reid responded by suggesting the same thing, arguing that there had to have been some missing background information to explain the fact that black children were holding signs opposing Critical Race Theory.
“This mis-use of Black boys is tantamount to child abuse,” she tweeted. “I would really like to hear the back-story on who these kids were and how they wound up at a DeSantis event. Given how anti-Black DeSantis is, using Black children this way is extra sick.”
This mis-use of Black boys is tantamount to child abuse. I would really like to hear the back-story on who these kids were and how they wound up at a DeSantis event. Given how anti-Black DeSantis is, using Black children this way is extra sick. https://t.co/FUyS5GDNMw
— Joy-Ann (Pro-Democracy) Reid 😷 (@JoyAnnReid) April 23, 2022
“That sure looks like T. Willard Fair in the background. But I’ve been told by a trusted source that these were not Miami Urban League kids, standing there looking like they were at the dentist. Any Florida journalists have insight into this?” Reid continued.
Author Chad Felix Greene shot back, tweeting, “Notice she automatically assumes the young men were being exploited before knowing any details of the event.”
“What is sick is denying these young men agency to make decisions for themselves,” he continued. “You do this alot. Argue that POC are being exploited against their will when they share a message you disagree with, or believe they shouldn’t have because of their skin color.”
In fact, despite the assertions of people like Jones and Reid, some of the most vocal opposition to Critical Race Theory — and attempts to infuse it into lessons being taught even in elementary schools — has been from black parents who don’t want their children to be taught they are victims.
“Telling my child, or any child, that they are in a permanently oppressed status because they are black is racist,” Florida mother Keisha King told the State Board of Education.
Fla. mom, Keisha King, to the State Board of Education: Critical Race Theory "does not teach the truth, unless you believe that whites are better than blacks … Telling my child, or any child, that they are in a permanently oppressed status because they are black is racist" pic.twitter.com/DHJFONDXxx
— Tom Elliott (@tomselliott) June 11, 2021