Rev. Al Sharpton, Black leaders rally against Florida Gov. DeSantis: ‘You’re wrong to mess with Black history’

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Hundreds of Black legislators, preachers, and activists rallied against Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ attacks on diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives Wednesday afternoon, threatening to pull students from Florida schools and universities.

Demonstrators including Rev. Al Sharpton, protested in response to not only the state’s rejection of the College Board’s Advanced Placement African American Studies class but also the governor’s plans to gut college diversity programs, continue his migrant relocation program and pursue policies that are viewed as harmful to the LGBTQ community.

“If you come for one of us, you come for all of us,” said Bishop Rudolph McKissick of Jacksonville, Florida, at the National Action Network rally.

“If you don’t want our story, you shouldn’t get our students,” he later added. “I wonder what would happen if every D1 athlete went into the transfer portal and found a school that wants their story.”

MIGRANT RELOCATION:Florida lawmakers approve Gov. Ron DeSantis’ expanded migrant relocation program

AP COURSES:A breakdown of what was removed or changed in the AP African American Studies framework

The protest, which started as a march from Bethel Missionary Baptist Church in Tallahassee to the Capitol building, was led by Tallahassee church leader Rev. R.B. Holmes and Sharpton, with a banner that read “Save Our History” with the words “Equity! Diversity! Inclusion!” underneath.

He urged underrepresented communities in Florida to register to vote and compared their efforts to the biblical story of David and Goliath.

“We’ll march together, we’ll fight together, we got our sling shots! We got our sling shots! We got our sling shots!” he yelled as the crowd cheered.