On Friday, Pierre Rutledge, chair of the Black Affairs Advisory Board, issued an apology to Governor DeSantis. Days before, a member of the volunteer board called DeSantis “racist” because the governor rejected an African-American history Advanced Placement course. The College Board removed parts of the course last Wednesday that was opposed by DeSantis. The course will be reevaluated by the Florida Department of Education.

DeSantis supported the Department of Education’s decision to remove the history course, because he said it pushed a political agenda.

“This course on Black history, what’s one of the lessons about? Queer theory,” DeSantis said. “Now, who would say that an important part of Black history is queer theory? That is somebody pushing an agenda.”

During the advisory board’s meeting last Wednesday, Miami lawyer Stephen Hunter Johnson said, “Our governor is racist.” At that time, no one objected to the comment. Board members unanimously voted to have Johnson and another member draft a letter to DeSantis objecting to the governor’s position on the AP course. By Friday, the chair apologized for Johnson’s remark. He did so with nine fellow members standing behind him. Where were all of them Wednesday when no one uttered a peep?

The press conference on Friday was called to release the final version of the letter sent to the governor. The letter does not criticize DeSantis directly. Instead, it said the board was “saddened to see the State of Florida object to the College Board’s AP African American Studies submission.” The press conference followed Miami-Dade’s debut of a lobby exhibit sponsored by the Black Affairs board. The theme is Black Resistance. It highlights moments in civil rights history and racial equity in Miami. The county mayor said she would make sure Miami-Dade continues as “a place where everyone can enjoy educational freedom and take pride in their history.”

That was never the question. DeSantis is working to keep politics – especially woke politics – out of the classroom. He supports AP Black History courses.

Johnson attended the unveiling of the lobby exhibit but left before the advisory board’s press conference began. Was he afraid of being called out for his remark as he listened to the chair of the board apologized for his ugly behavior? Sounds cowardly.

Johnson attended the county event but left ahead of the board press conference. The draft letter he submitted to board staff Wednesday night stated “we find that your administration has engaged in overt racism and anti-Blackness, for purely political purposes,” according to a copy he provided the Herald.

In an interview after the press conference, Johnson said he was ahead of the vote that he intended to bluntly criticize DeSantis in the letter and stood by his original remarks. He said he was sad to see the board back down from the confrontation.

“The Black community has been far too polite for far too long in the face of overt racism,” he said. “And it is our obligation to call it out when we see it and are confronted with it.”

“Far too polite”? Do tell. I think the problem is that racism is called out too often, and now everything is blamed on racism. The term has been cheapened to the extent that people are numb to it. If everything is racist, nothing is racist. Congressman Wesley Hunt made this point last week during a House Judiciary Committee hearing. He’s a black conservative and he was called racist by Democrats for calling the influx of illegal immigrants due to Biden’s border crisis an invasion. Race has nothing to do with that. It’s about national security, national sovereignty, and American immigration law. Illegal immigrants from more than 140 countries have crossed the border. Hunt said that Democrats cry wolf on racism too much. The word is so overused that when someone is called a racist, they receive an eye roll, not a shocked gasp.

Nonetheless, racial politics exists. Note that the specific objections by DeSantis to the AP course are conflated to be the whole AP course on African American history.

“Politics has no place in determining school curriculum,” said Pierre Rutledge, Miami-Dade Black Affairs Advisory Board chair. “If we rely on elected officials to tell our children what they can and cannot learn about, that is the epitome of political indoctrination.”

“I can’t call the governor racist. I don’t know him personally. I don’t know his heart,” said Miramar Mayor Wayne Messam, “but what I do know is that the policies that he brings forward, always seems to attack Black people and people of color.”

And they’re not the only local Black leaders to speak out against the move.

In a message from the City of Miramar, Wednesday night, the city council unanimously approved a resolution denouncing DeSantis’ decision to reject the college board’s advanced placement African American studies course.

“The governor at any time can take actions that can come against our city,” said Messam, “but we want to show we are not afraid; we will stand up for our residents.”

One thing to keep in mind is that DeSantis flipped Miami-Dade county red in the midterm elections. He didn’t just flip it. He won the former Democrat stronghold by the biggest margin of any Republican governor in more than 40 years. He easily won re-election and Florida is a solidly red state thanks to his leadership. I imagine that others in the political arena know this and don’t want to get on his bad side, especially so early into his second term.

The apology is a good first step. It’s good that some black people are willing to apologize when the term racist has no place in a conversation.