The New Republic Checks Out Florida’s Byron Donalds

Byron Donalds hit the media spotlight when he was suggested as the conservative alternative to Kevin McCarthy for Speaker of the House. He is a relative newcomer to Washington D.C. In Florida, however, he and his wife Erika are well known in the conservative Christian charter school movement. Is he, as the New Republic speculates, the future star of the Florida Republican Party? You can read about him here.

I am quoted in the article. I have been following the Donalds’ for several years because they helped found the Classical Academies in Florida. It is worth knowing the people behind the attacks on Florida’s public schools. It helps to understand the strategies behind the vouchers, charters, and religious ideologies that seek to divide our communities.  Donalds offers the viewpoint of the only Black member of the Freedom Caucus.

Free Speech? Not in Florida

ProPublica details the latest denial of free speech in Florida. This time the target is the League of Women Voters. You need to read this article; it will make your hair curl.

ProPublica states: “The league revealed that it had been denied permission by the Florida Department of Management Services to hold an outdoor rally on the steps of the Old Capitol in Tallahassee under a new DeSantis administration rule requiring groups to first get sponsorship from a sympathetic state agency”.

The League is not easily deterred. Read the article to find out what the League did with a roll of red tape. It is classic. Three cheers to the League.