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“There is no silver lining” in slavery, Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC) said on Thursday in reaction to Florida’s new African American history curriculum, which states that “instruction includes how slaves developed skills which, in some instances, could be applied for their personal benefit.”
“As a country founded upon freedom, the greatest deprivation of freedom was slavery,” the Republican presidential candidate told a reporter following a forum with Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds (R).
“There is no silver lining…in slavery,” he said, explaining that slavery was really about “separating families, about mutilating humans and even raping their wives.”
“It was just devastating. So I would hope that every person in our country — and certainly running for president — would appreciate that,” Scott continued. “People have bad days. Sometimes they regret what they say. And we should ask them again to clarify their positions.”
His remark follows controversy surrounding the Sunshine State’s newly approved black history program, which instructs students to “examine the various duties and trades performed by slaves (e.g., agricultural work, painting, carpentry, tailoring, domestic service, blacksmithing, transportation).”
“Instruction includes how slaves developed skills which, in some instances, could be applied for their personal benefit,” the “Florida’s State Academic Standards – Social Studies, 2023” document adds in a section under “benchmark clarifications.”
Florida Gov.
