Gov. Ron DeSantis and his idealogical mentor Christopher Rufo blast FSU diversity programs PHOTOS COURTESY OF THE CHRONICLE OF HIGHER EDUCATION

Gov. Ron DeSantis did not come up with the idea of white-washing American history in favor of one that aligns with Western civilization. He just gave it credence through the power of the state. As indicated in previous columns, it was the brainchild of the rightwing agitator Christopher Rufo who has been making a career demonizing critical race theory (CRT).

"Nobody wants this crap, OK?” DeSantis said in December 2021. “This is an elite-driven phenomenon being driven by bureaucratic elites, elites in universities and elites in corporate America and they’re trying to shove it down the throats of the American people. You’re not doing that in the state of Florida."

Less than a year later, DeSantis signed the "Stop W.O.K.E" (Wrongs to Our Kids and Employees) Act which prohibits teaching lessons that would make students "feel guilt, anguish, or other forms of psychological distress because of actions, in which the person played no part, committed in the past by other members of the same race, color, national origin, or sex."

The governor added, "We are not going to categorize you based on your race. We are not gonna tell some kindergartener that they’re an oppressor based on their race and what may have happened 100 or 200 years ago. And we’re not gonna tell other kids that they’re oppressed based on their race."

The governor was going after teaching materials responding to the main proposition of critical race theory: that the racism of the slavery past has become institutionalized. But he cannot legislate away the fact that those “other kids” are also “oppressed based on their race.” He has ignored their “anguish or other forms of psychological distress” as their history is being erased from school texts and lessons and books are being banned and censored for telling their story.

Still, it was inevitable that the next target would be initiatives aimed at addressing the reality of institutionalized racism: Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) programs in state colleges and universities, along with Environmental, Social and Good Governance (ESG) initiatives of several corporations.

On Monday, DeSantis signed legislation barring public colleges from spending state or federal funds on DEI efforts, The Washington Post reported. The law also prohibits public colleges from offering general education courses that “distort significant historical events,” teach “identity politics,” or are “based on theories that systemic racism, sexism, oppression, or privilege are inherent in the institutions of the United States and were created to maintain social, political, or economic inequities.”

Speaking at a news conference at New College in Sarasota, the governor said, “If you look at the way this has actually been implemented across the country, DEI is better viewed as standing for discrimination, exclusion and indoctrination. And that has no place in our public institutions.”

The anti-DEI law requires the state and public universities “to appoint faculty committees that would review general-education core courses,” News Service of Florida reported. The reviews would be guided by this edict: “General education core courses may not distort significant historical events or include a curriculum that teaches identity politics … or is based on theories that systemic racism, sexism, oppression, and privilege are inherent in the institutions of the United States and were created to maintain social, political, and economic inequities.”

The law bans state funding deemed “to promote, support, or maintain any programs or campus activities that … [advocate] for diversity, equity, and inclusion, or promote or engage in political or social activism, as defined by rules of the State Board of Education and regulations of the [state university system’s] Board of Governors.” Of course it is the state that gets to set the rules.

The move is in line with DeSantis’ stated objective, as reported by News 4 Jax, that all public university students must take “certain core course requirements that’s really focused on giving them the foundation so that they can think for themselves and the core curriculum must be grounded in actual history, the actual philosophy that has shaped Western civilization” – the same “Western civilization” that was responsible for trafficking millions of slaves from Africa. But Shaya Gregory Poku, vice president for equity and social justice at Emerson College in Boston, argued in an Inside Higher Education commentary that depriving African American students of exposure to their history would increase “the already high level of stress which they experience.” Poku added that “teaching sensitive and controversial material is imperative. Challenging student perceptions—cultivating critical thinking and inviting cognitive dissonance— are central tasks of a postsecondary education.”

The other target, Environmental, Social and Corporate Governance (ESG), has been around for nearly 20 years, ever since global financial institutions, after a study urged by the United Nations, published the 2004 report, "Who Cares Wins." They acknowledged that they have a responsibility beyond just profits, including towards the environment and social progress, when making investment decisions. ESG principles have been adopted by companies that manage assets of more than $30 trillion; by 2019, capital totaling $17.67 billion was directed towards ESG-linked initiatives, according to the financial services firm Morningstar Inc.

DeSantis claims, however, that ESG enables the use of economic power to impose an agenda on society, WJCT News reported. The Florida Retirement System is now required to give priority to obtaining the highest returns on investments without giving consideration to ESG policies. State and local governments are barred from considering ESG when issuing bonds and from considering or giving preference to ESG as part of the procurement and contracting process. Banks that adhere to ESG policies are barred from receiving public deposits.

"We are recognizing the dangers with this agenda. It’s not your agenda; it’s not the agenda of the average Floridian or average American," DeSantis, echoing a familiar refrain, told a Florida audience as he signed the anti-ESG legislation. "This is an eliteimposed agenda. These are people that have access to a lot of financial might, a lot of business and corporate resources, and they are trying to marshal that in service of their particular political agenda, and that is wrong."

A similar mindset prevails in the governor’s confrontation with Disney after the entertainment giant criticized his disrespect for the LGBTQ community: using state power to advance a political agenda. Within days, Florida’s Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis Jr. warned banks, which hold about $36 billion of Florida’s state deposits, to drop ESG initiatives or lose that business. They include Bank of America and Wells Fargo. Surprisingly, there is not much criticism from the rest of the usually business-friendly Republican Party or corporations themselves.

Readers unfamiliar with such topics may be tempted to opt out of the debate. The temptation probably is to say that “it is what it is,” the term which J.E. Lawrence used in 1949 in a column in The Nebraska State Journal to describe the hardship of frontier-era life in that state. But that is precisely what DeSantis and company hope voters will continue to do, that they will surrender to politicians who have a law for everything, even something that they have to fabricate, such as, in a diversity state, teaching about diversity is a bad thing. Yesterday, critical race theory and wokeness and LGBTQ; today, DEI and ESG. Who knows what tomorrow will bring?