JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A Jacksonville pastor and teacher who recently stepped down from his job after the State Board of Education approved new standards for African American Studies and other community activists plan to hire multiple attorneys to see what options they have to fight against the latest changes.
Pastor R.L. Gundy hosted a call-to-action meeting Monday to bring the community together to discuss the controversial curriculum.
“As I was teaching, all of the resources that I needed to actually teach the Black history and then when you ask about it the state had stopped some stuff for you to be able to have access to it. And then when you have to go get resources and when you pull those resources down now you put yourself in jeopardy of getting in trouble,” Gundy said.
Gundy was a history teacher and recently resigned from his job over the new curriculum that requires educators to teach about the personal benefits African Americans received during slavery.
With the new curriculum going into effect this upcoming school year, Gundy said he plans to fight back.
“They have decided that we Black folks in this state don’t matter. I keep that simple. So we’re going to show them that we do matter and we’re going to stay woke and awaken them as well,” he said.
Maceo George, member of the Northside Coalition of Jacksonville, said the organization plans on uniting with Gundy.
“We’re going to show the governor were not going to sit back and take his racist policy and what they’re trying to do is to shut us up, but we’re not. We’re going to continue to make them uncomfortable,” George said.
Shantila Yatsmann, who is a parent, said the changes promote violence instead of peace.
“I believe in teaching our history but doing it in a way it won’t bring harm and hatred to our kids because, at the end of the day, it’s about our kids,” Yatsmann said. “My hope for this is that the curriculum would be changed, promote the history but do it in a way that moving toward their future of the world, where our kids won’t hate each other.”
Gundy said his goal is to have this standard reversed and have the truth taught in schools again.
“What are you afraid of? Are you afraid that your kids will go sit at your dining room table and talk to their mothers and their grandparents and tell them, ‘Why haven’t you told (me) about how we treated Americans Africans and Native Americans or Hispanics?’” Gundy said. “Then they need to have an uncomfortable conversation. I’m going to give them plenty of things to be uncomfortable about.”
Gundy will host another meeting for the community on Aug. 7.