NAACP to Issue Travel Ban to Florida, Raises Awareness on Controversial Laws

A local chapter of the NAACP is hoping to use a travel ban to raise awareness of some recently implemented controversial laws in the state of Florida.

“Just educate yourself on what is really going on and why,” Yvette Lewis, the president of the local chapter of the NAACP, said to CBS News.

Lewis said the primary reason for a travel ban is for folks to focus on the issue of literature. Governor Ron DeSantis passed a law that recently banned specific books in schools, saying that “books must not have any bias when it comes to race, cultural diversity and socioeconomic issues. The law also states that “books must be appropriate for the age group.”

“It would bring awareness to what people are going through in the state of Florida,” Lewis said.

Additionally, Lewis wants to bring awareness to the book, To Kill a Mockingbird, which has come under fire in the state of Florida recently.

“It’s difficult to understand. What did this book have in it that was so offensive that would make you say pull it from the shelf,” Lewis asked. “It really looks like you targeted one specific race.”

Florida also rejected the high school advanced placement African American Studies course due to state leaders and DeSantis saying it “contributed to political agenda.”

Still, the college board released a new version of the course last February.

“The African American studies definitely hit me really hard because I love studying my history and understanding where we’ve come from and where we are going. And if you don’t know your history, you’re bound to repeat it,” Lewis said.

Lewis is also keying in on DeSantis Stop Woke Act, which restricts conversations about diversity in the workplace if it makes employees feel “uncomfortable or guilty about their race.”

“It’s never meant to make you feel guilty. It’s meant to help you understand and educate yourself on what actually happened,” Lewis said.