Civil rights groups warn tourists about Florida in wake of ‘hostile’ laws
Published:Sunday | May 21, 2023 | 12:03 PM
ORLANDO, Florida (AP) — The NAACP over the weekend issued a travel advisory for Florida, joining two other civil rights groups in warning potential tourists that recent laws and policies championed by Governor Ron DeSantis and Florida lawmakers are “openly hostile toward African Americans, people of colour and LGBTQ+ individuals.”
The NAACP, long an advocate for Black Americans, joined the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC), a Latino civil rights organisation, and Equality Florida, a gay rights advocacy group, in issuing travel advisories for the Sunshine State, where tourism is one of the state's largest job sectors.
The warning approved Saturday by the NAACP's board of directors tells tourists that, before travelling to Florida, they should understand the state of Florida “devalues and marginalises the contributions of, and the challenges faced by African Americans and other communities of colour.”
An email was sent Sunday morning to DeSantis' office seeking comment. DeSantis is expected to announce a run for the GOP presidential nomination this week.
Florida is one of the most popular states in the US for tourists, and tourism is one of its biggest industries.
More than 137.5 million tourists visited Florida last year, marking a return to pre-pandemic levels, according to Visit Florida, the state's tourism promotion agency.
Tourism supports 1.6 million full-time and part-time jobs, and visitors spent $98.8 billion in Florida in 2019, the last year figures are available.
The NAACP's decision comes after the DeSantis' administration in January rejected the College Board's Advanced Placement African American Studies course.
DeSantis and Republican lawmakers also have pressed forward with measures that ban state colleges from having programmes on diversity, equity and inclusion, as well as critical race theory, and also passed the Stop WOKE Act that restricts certain race-based conversations and analysis in schools and businesses.
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