10 Investigates first reported on Tuesday the Florida NAACP Florida State Conference voted unanimously over the weekend to ask its national office for approval to issue a travel advisory in wake of recent policies and legislation targeting diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives.

One of the bill, HB 999, in its current form would ban certain courses on gender studies and race. Some in higher education contend that DEI courses are an invaluable learning tool. Should the law pass, certain majors like women’s studies and any subject surrounding critical race theory would be eliminated as well. The bill is headed to the State Senate for approval.

“We would issue this to anyone who is thinking of coming to Florida, thinking of sending their children to school — anyone planning to breathe in Florida,” Florida NAACP legislative affairs chair Marsha Ellison told 10 Investigates earlier this week. “We want people to be ‘woke.’”

Now, you already know that the very mention of the word “woke” will awaken the Devil’s gatekeeper, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, seething and foaming at the mouth while he calls on his legions of anti-woke demons (also known as the Florida Board of Education) to exorcise the woke spirits and drive them out of the valley of the white and fragile.

Or maybe DeSantis will simply dismiss the travel advisory bid as a “joke.”

“What a joke–what a joke. Yeah, we’ll see how effective that is,” he said during a news conference at Ridgeview High School in Orange Park.

“It’s a pure stunt,” he went on to say. “And fine, if you want to waste your time on a stunt, that’s fine. Look, I’m not wasting my time on your stunts, OK? I’m going to make sure that we’re getting things done here and we’re going to continue to make this state a great state.”

I mean, it’s not like DeSantis could do anything about his state getting added to the 21st-century Green Book anyway. No one expected him to do anything but “continue to make this state a great state” for white people who like their history whitewashed, their businesses diversity-free and their “stand your ground” laws Caucasian-exclusive. Of course, DeSantis is just going to continue ignoring Black people in favor of his white and racist acolytes and turning the Sunshine State into a modern-day sundown town. That’s exactly why the NAACP branch is looking to warn Black people to Get Out before they purchase that one-way plane ticket to the white supremacist utopia and sunken place portal.

Anyway, in response to DeSantis calling the travel advisory request “a joke”, Hillsborough NAACP President Yvette Lewis shot back saying it’s “‘a joke’ that all of the United States is hearing.”

This isn’t the first time the NAACP has issued a travel advisory.

In 2017, the renowned civil rights organization issued a travel advisory warning  African Americans about traveling specifically on American Airlines flights after noticing “a pattern of disturbing incidents” involving Black passengers on the airline. That travel advisory urged African Americans to “exercise caution” when booking and boarding flights with American Airlines because they could be subjected to “disrespect, discrimination or unsafe conditions.”

The travel advisory spawned swift results with American Airlines having its employees take mandatory annual implicit bias training.

SEE ALSO:

Anti-DEI Bill Would ‘Prohibit’ Black Fraternities And Sororities In Florida, Lawmaker Worries

Op-Ed: Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis Leads GOP Charge Against Racial And Gender Equity Ahead Of 2024