Bernice King — lawyer, minister and the youngest child of civil rights revolutionary Martin Luther King Jr. — on Monday criticized Sen. Ted Cruz’s (R-Texas) remarks about the NAACP’s travel advisory for Florida, which argues the state is “hostile to Black Americans.”
Cruz called the advisory “bizarre” and “utterly dishonest.”
“In the 1950s & 1960s, the NAACP did extraordinary good helping lead the civil rights movement,” the Texas senator tweeted. “Today, Dr. King would be ashamed of how profoundly they’ve lost their way.”
But King quickly responded with a photo of her father and said, “What my father would be deeply concerned about is the harmful, discriminatory legislation in Florida.”
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R), who is expected to announce his 2024 campaign for president this week, has been facing increased backlash from a multitude of organizations for signing legislation many argue is discriminatory, anti-Black and anti-LGBTQ.
In addition to being one of the leading voices against critical race theory, DeSantis signed the Stop WOKE Act, restricting how schools and workplaces can address race, gender and sexual identity; banned an advanced placement African American studies pilot program from running in schools; and prohibited colleges and universities from spending public funds on diversity, equity and inclusion programs.
Though many conservatives have applauded the DeSantis administration, the NAACP said the state “devalues and marginalizes the contributions of, and challenges faced by African Americans and other communities of color.”
NAACP President and CEO Derrick Johnson defended the advisory on Monday.
“We are witnessing firsthand how he’s governing, and he’s governing to a small vocal minority of the community, not the majority interest of Florida,” Johnson said. “Nor is he governing towards a future of Florida, which will not look like the small minority that he’s speaking to in this moment.”