Photo:Cindy Ord/Getty
Cindy Ord/Getty
Actress and singerDenée Bentoncompared Florida Gov.Ron DeSantisto a Ku Klux Klan Grand Wizard during Sunday’sTony Awards, taking aim at the presidential candidate’s recent moves to strip schools of classes that mention diversity and inclusion or critical race theory.
The Florida-born Broadway actress, whoalso stars in HBO’sThe Gilded Age, made the remark while on stage to acknowledge the winner of the Excellence in Theatre Education Award from Carnegie Mellon University, her alma mater.
“Hi, I’m Denée Benton, actor and proud CMU alum. Earlier tonight, CMU and the Tony Awards presented the 2023 Excellence in Theatre Education Award,” Benton said. “And while I am certain that the current Grand Wizard — I’m sorry, excuse me,governorof my home state of Florida will be changing…”
After laughter and applause settled down, Benton continued: “I am sure that he will be changing the name of this following town immediately. We were honored to present this award to the truly incredible and life-changingJason Zembuch Young, enhancing the lives of students at South Plantation High School in Plantation, Florida.”
Just last month, DeSantis — who recentlyannounced his 2024 presidential campaign— signed a bill that will eliminate funding for diversity, equity and inclusion programs from public universities and prohibit the teaching of critical race theory in general education courses.
Diversity, equity and inclusion (also known as DEI) and critical race theory (or CRT) courses have become a hot-button topic, particularly among conservatives who argue that the classes will teach white students that they are inferior to their minority peers. Progressives, however, say that these classes help foster a more inclusive and welcoming environment.
DeSantis has argued against them, claiming that “woke” ideology isracially divisive and discriminatory. CRT, he has said, is “state-sanctioned racism that … [teaches] kids to hate our country or to hate each other.”
SB 266mandates that any Florida College System institution “may not expend any state or federal funds to promote, support, or maintain any programs or campus activities that … advocate for diversity, equity, and inclusion, or promote or engage in political or social activism.”
The bill also forbids Florida’s public colleges from offering general education courses that “distort significant historical events,” or are “based on theories that systemic racism, sexism, oppression, or privilege are inherent in the institutions of the United States and were created to maintain social, political, or economic inequities.”
DeSantis' support for the bill comes on the heels of a decision his administration made in January, to reject a new Advanced Placement course on African American history, saying in a letter that the course “lacks educational value and is contrary to Florida law.”
source: people.com
