HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, Fla. (Tampa Bay Now) – The Hillsborough Chapter of the NAACP is working to issue a travel advisory for the state of Florida.
This comes after recent controversial laws that have been put in place by Governor Ron DeSantis.
Leaders with the NAACP in Hillsborough County say they hope this travel advisory brings attention to the legislation currently in Florida.
“Just educate yourself on what is really going on and why,” said Yvette Lewis with the NAACP.
Yvette Lewis is the president of the Hillsborough County Chapter of the NAACP. Over the weekend, Lewis and other members of the NAACP agreed to ask the national office to consider issuing a travel advisory for Florida.
“Be aware of where you spend your dollars at, make your dollars count for you and make your dollars be worth something and worthwhile,” said Lewis.
She says the travel advisory would warn people about visiting or moving to the state.
“It would bring awareness to what people are going through in the state of Florida,” said Lewis.
She says a big focus of hers is literature, a law passed by Governor Ron DeSantis recently banned specific books in schools. The law says books must not have any bias when it comes to race, cultural diversity and socioeconomic issues. It also says the books must be appropriate for the age group.
One of the books that has been considered controversial in the state is ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ which discusses race relations.
“It’s difficult to understand ‘What did this book have in it that was so offensive, that would make you say pull it from the shelf.’ It really looks like you targeted one specific race,” said Lewis.
The state also recently rejected the high school advanced placement African American Studies course because state leaders and Governor Ron DeSantis said it contributed to a political agenda.
The college board then released a new version of the course in February.
Lewis says altering African American History courses is unnecessary.
“The African American studies definitely hit me really hard because I love studying my history and understanding where we’ve come from and where we are going. And if you don’t know your history, you’re bound to repeat it,” said Lewis.
Another big focus for Lewis it DeSantis’ Stop Woke Act, the act restricts conversations about diversity in the workplace if it makes employees feel uncomfortable or guilty about their race.
“It’s never meant to make you feel guilty. It’s meant to help you understand and educate yourself on what actually happened,” said Lewis.
Hillsborough County Chapter of the NAACP says they will hear back from the national chapter sometime in May.
This content was originally published here.
