The President of Florida NOW (National Organization for Women) called out Republican Governor Ron DeSantis saying he brought a “new era of Jim Crow” to the state, but also had very harsh words for Republicans in the legislature. The progressive group called Florida Republicans “racists, misogynists, sexists, anti-people of color, homophobic, anti-immigrants, anti-public education, anti-free speech,” among other things.
Based on the last election cycle in Florida, the comments are going to be beyond controversial politically. Republicans were able to win an overwhelming supermajority in the state legislature and Governor DeSantis won by a large margin in a race that was barely a campaign for the incumbent, and launched his presidential bid.
Florida NOW defines themselves as an “intersectional grassroots organization that promotes feminist ideals, leads societal change, eliminates discrimination, and protects the equal rights of all women and girls in all aspects of social, political, and economic life.”
Debbie Deland, President of Florida NOW said that “DeSantis’s unprecedented sprint to autocracy, in lockstep with the 2023 Florida legislature’s supermajority, has
been formally unleashed. The supermajority of the Legislature and DeSantis are racists, misogynists, sexists, anti-people of color, homophobic, anti-immigrants, anti-public education, anti-free speech…”
Deland said the legislators and governor closed the “worst session in Florida’s history” and claimed the repercussions are just being identified and/or felt.
“There were many egregious, cruel, and unconstitutional bills signed into law, at times in the dark of night, that are shattering families, bullying the most vulnerable populations, and taking vengeance out on entities or groups that dare oppose DeSantis’s white male supremist ideology,” Deland added. “A new era of Jim Crow is ushered in by DeSantis.”
Florida NOW said the New Jim Crow is established by DeSantis laws and policies, including claims of voter suppression, attacks on public education, and the new six-week abortion ban.
The progressive group said that instead of making this fundamental constitutional right easily accessible to all citizens and despite a highly national acclaimed 2020 Florida voting performance, Governor DeSantis “championed laws that hinder voters from their right to vote with confusion, chaos, contradictions and/or fear.” Debbie Deland, President of FL NOW added that “DeSantis and the Legislature don’t want the young or people of color to vote.”
The progressive group cited claims of gerrymandered districts, changes to Vote-by-Mail, limits on third party organizations, the creation of an election police force and other issues as examples of voter suppression efforts.
On public education, Florida NOW said “all levels of education from K-12 to public universities have been severely attacked.” Deland cited laws targeting Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging programs (DEI), changes to boards and administrators, teacher shortages, and claims of bias against LGBTQIA+ communities through 12th grade.
Debbie Deland also stated that “the $8,500 per student school voucher expansion will cost the FL public schools $4B dollars. This horrendous expansion of school vouchers segregates schools.”
On banning books in Florida, Debbie Deland said it is no hoax. “Massive book banning in FL is NO hoax. It is raging county by county from many people that aren’t even parents in those communities. Book banning drives ignorance. DeSantis seems to want an ignorant populous.”
The group said the 6-week abortion ban law virtually bans abortion in Florida, adding most women do not know that they are pregnant in six weeks and would not have time to complete the requirements of the state to get the abortion. “We have already seen the sad consequences for several women carrying unviable fetuses,” FL NOW said. “They are not babies. As another element of this new Jim Crow, the severe abortion ban especially disadvantages lower economic and women of color communities.”
Florida NOW is also concerned with a new law states that only 8 of 12 jurors are now required to apply the death penalty in capital cases (and the judge can override the jury’s sentence if he/she wants the death penalty) in the face of much higher, biased rates of Black incarceration. The progressive group says the action discriminates against Blacks and puts more of them to death when many have been found innocent over time. “This new law is no different than some of the behavior under Jim Crow and likely takes us back to basically white hanging juries,” Deland said.
While Governor DeSantis surely rejects every claim made by the progressive group, Florida Now added they want to educate the community on these issues and are looking to support efforts in these areas.
“Clearly DeSantis and his Administration have gone beyond any point of reason,” Deland, FLNOW President said. “By imposing their blatant, racist, misogynistic, perverted sense of ‘freedom’ agenda on Florida, they are hurting every Floridian socially, economically, and politically. This agenda compares to the Jim Crow era our country suffered after Reconstruction and to segregation, which is returning covertly and unjustly.”
