Harris Rejects DeSantis ‘Invitation’ To Debate Black History Curriculum: ‘An Undeniable Fact’ Slavery Had No ‘Redeeming Qualities’

Vice President Kamala Harris responded to Gov. Ron DeSantis‘s (R) “invitation” to discuss Florida’s African American history curriculum, saying she would not debate the “undeniable fact” the Black people did not benefit from slavery.

Harris spoke Tuesday before a friendly crowd at the AME Church Quadrennial Convention in Florida, where she referred to some Republicans as “extremists”:

In this moment, we even see extremists ban books and attempt to erase and even rewrite the ugly parts of our history. Right here in Florida they plan to teach students that Black people benefitted from slavery. They insult us in an attempt to gaslight us, in an attempt to divide and distract our nation with unnecessary debates. And now they attempt to legitimize these unnecessary debates with a proposal that most recently came in, of a politically-motivated round table.

Well, I’m here in Florida, and I will tell you, there is no round table, no lecture, no invitation we will accept to debate an undeniable fact: there were no redeeming qualities of slavery. And as I said last week when I was here in Florida, we will not stop calling out and fighting back against extremist so-called leaders who try to prevent our children from learning our true and full history.

CNN’s Jessica Dean reported that DeSantis’ invitation was really just a way to “escalate” the feud.

“This invitation that he put out — and you can tell if you read the letter that it’s, uh, a little over the top. You know, ‘Do you have time, I know you’re vice president, but come on down here.’ So, he sent this letter to her, kind of escalating this feud,” Dean noted.

CNN played tape of DeSantis saying the vice president “came to Florida to attack us, and she’s trying to attack me, but she’s really attacking the people that worked hard on this…It’s wrong to let false narratives stand, and they’ve been doing this to us for years from the White House and we’ve fought back every time. Now let’s put the money where the mouth is.”

Watch the clip above via CNN.

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