School Choice/Florida’s NAACP Chapter is Full of It – Top 3 Takeaways – March 27th, 2023
- The Florida chapter of the NAACP is full of it. The NAACP stands for the National Association for the Advancement for Colored People. And while there’s a lot that goes into the collective advancement of any large demographic group of Americans, there’s historically been no greater indication of progress than opportunity. It’s long been evidenced that steady employment equals less crime and is most directly linked to upward mobility in society. Thus, if we’re to pick just one metric to determine the “advancement” of any demographic group, employment would be the best to evaluate. On the back of the unanimous call of the Florida Chapter of the NAACP for a “travel advisory” to be issued by the National Board warning minorities, most specifically Blacks, not to travel to Florida due to their perception of policies which have created a hostile environment for minorities, theoretically represented under their umbrella...I’ve evaluated the reality on the ground for minorities within our state. And the facts couldn’t stand in greater contrast to the warning sought by Florida’s NAACP (something the national board will consider in May). As illustrated in today’s Q&A, the unemployment rate for Hispanics in Florida is 28% lower than the national average. As impressive as that is, it’s a remarkable 31% lower for Blacks.
- If Florida’s policies have been so hostile for minorities in Florida, if the state has created such a repressive environment for minorities, how would that be possible? What’s more, Florida is currently the third best state in the country for minority opportunity with only North Dakota and Utah, two small states with low Black populations, sporting lower unemployment rates for Blacks. One must ask themselves, if the NAACP’s mandate by name is the advancement of colored people, why would they want to keep them away from the large state with what’s evidenced to be the greatest likelihood of success in opportunity? But of course, whether it’s this issue and a call for action, or the fraudulent narrative of racial suppression in Georgia’s voting laws which led to the successful ouster of the MLB All-Star game from majority Black Atlanta, to lily White Denver in 2021, it’s long been clear that many racial organizations which assert the best interests of minorities direct calls for action that are anything but. Make this this latest. Speaking of opportunity that will especially help minorities...
- Universal School Choice is really coming to Florida. Unless you’re new to this show, in which case welcome – this is where facts are analytically and fearlessly delivered daily, and narratives go to die – you've heard my extensive coverage of Universal School Choice this cycle. And with reason. The move towards universal school choice has been an agenda item I’ve fought for over the course of my entire 25-year career. And that’s because there’s no greater indication of how one’s life will generally go than how they perform in K-12 education – thus there’s no more important issue we can address than providing maximum opportunity for future generations. For far too long those most commonly on the lower end of the socioeconomic scale have been disproportionately disadvantaged by living in underperforming school districts due to artificial lines drawn on maps. While Florida already had a leading school choice program in place, only approximately 3% of Florida’s K-12 students had access to it. With the state legislature having passed Florida’s “Education” bill, or Universal School Choice to Governor DeSantis’ desk, approximately $8,000 in vouchers will be available to parents of students in K-12 schools as of July 1st, with priority given to families of the lowest economic means first. That is provided Governor DeSantis signs the legislation – which is likely but not a given as written. Should he do so, as he should, this wouldn’t just be the realization of a 25-year passion project coming to fruition, this would be the greatest opportunity for the educational advancement of children ever seen in Florida. Since Florida’s school Choice program began in 2005, 70% of the participants have been minorities and 82% of the students who’ve taken advantage of the opportunity for choice have educationally outperformed their peers who’d lacked it. Now all Floridians will have access and with priority given first to those of the most modest means economically, it’ll naturally continue to benefit minorities most. Which, to end where I started with today’s Q&A, once again shows the patent absurdity of the Florida chapter of the NAACP calling for an advisory to not even visit our state. Not only is Florida the best large state for minority opportunity already, but it’s also about to get considerably better. If they truly cared about minority advancement as opposed to a political agenda, they’d be calling for all minorities to come to Florida to take advantage of the minority opportunities here. So yes, universal school choice is on the precipice of coming to Florida, and something tells me many minorities will continue to come as well, in no small part due to issues like choice and opportunity.