Now, Faith in Florida is expanding its efforts by holding a training and news conference this weekend. On Thursday, faith leaders and educators plan to convene in Orlando for a three-day national training to share their experiences and takeaways using the toolkit. Organizers said training sessions will include a visit from curriculum companies whose products can help facilitate Black history programs within churches.

The training will conclude on Saturday and end with a news conference where faith leaders intend to renew their commitment to providing access to accurate Black history education for everyone.

As the state’s Republican-led political leadership began targeting history standards in 2022, leaders from Faith in Florida requested to meet with the Board of Education with hopes of discussing their concerns.

“Will they even listen to a group of faith leaders who really care about the teaching of Black history?” recalled Thomas, who is also a pastor at New Generation Missionary Baptist Church.

The group wanted a chance to push back on House Bill 7, which included, among other changes, new curriculum standards requiring instruction on how enslaved people benefited from their bondage. Faith in Florida leaders viewed the bill as an attack on the access to Black history in Florida schools and an insult to professional educators.

“Teaching Black history has now become a threat again. Why would anyone go to such extremes to dilute this? We just can’t understand,” said Thomas. “It just baffles us.”

But, Faith in Florida didn’t get the response they had hoped for. Thomas said Education Commissioner Manny Diaz Jr. responded that he would come to their meeting, but never showed up.

They tried again, inviting lawmakers to a church in Miami Gardens to hear from educators and faith leaders about their concerns for HB 7.

At the time, the bill was a part of a larger movement by Republicans to ban teaching critical race theory — a concept taught only in higher education spaces — and restrict teachers from talking about implicit bias, oppression and other “Woke” concepts in schools. The legislation drew criticism from groups such as the Florida Education Association teachers union and the NAACP for watering down Black history and creating confusion and fear for educators.

But once again, Diaz, a Miami native, didn’t show up, according to Faith in Florida. The Department of Education did not respond to an email for comment from The Miami Herald.

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