At Florida’s only public HBCU, students are wary of political influence on race education

By Sharon Johnson | The Associated Press Jovan Mickens, a political science major at Florida AM University, poses for a photo before class on Sept. 27, 2023 in Tallahassee, Fla. A core mission of Florida A&M University from its founding over a century ago has been to educate African Americans. It was written into the law that established the school along with another college, in Gainesville, reserved for white students. At Florida’s only public HBCU, some students now fear political constraints might get in the way of teaching parts of their history. (AP Photo/Sharon Johnson) TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — A core mission of Florida A&M University from its founding over a century ago has been to educate African Americans. It was written into the law that established the school along with another college, in Gainesville, reserved for white students. At Florida’s only public historically Black university, some students now fear political constraints might get in the way of teaching parts of their history. A law signed last spring by Gov. Ron DeSantis, a candidate for the Republican presidential nomination, blocks public colleges from using taxpayer money on diversity programs. It also forbids instruction of theories that “systemic racism, sexism, oppression,...