In the 1980’s the United Nations imposed a “Cultural Boycott” of Sun City, a resort in South Africa that the racist apartheid government used to get around sanctions imposed by the U.N. and some world governments.
The resort hosted concerts and other artists who were saying they didn’t support apartheid while at the same time helping to fund and legitimize apartheid until they were pressured into stop performing in the racist nation.
Florida and its governor, Ron DeSantis are at the forefront of the racist war against Black people and Black history, migrant workers, the lgbtqi community, women and girls access to abortion and medical care, and voting rights. He is banning books — especially those by Black and minority authors, he has stripped universities of autonomy, driven teachers and professors out of jobs, and fired teachers for sharing library books.
Sun City – A Teaching Guide – Zinn Education Project
Teaching Guide. By Bill Bigelow. 6 pages. Lessons to accompany the 1985 video “Sun City” that promoted the cultural…
The state of Florida makes billions of dollars from Black athletes who fill Division 1 universities like the University of Florida Gators, Florida State Seminoles, Florida Atlantic Owls, University of Miami Hurricanes, and the Central Florida Knights. The football programs bring in billions of dollars from national and local television and radio contracts, and from merchandise and ticket sales. Almost all that money bypasses the athletes and fills the coffers of the school, the coaches and assistants, local businesses, and of course greedy politicians.
Florida college football coaches make millions of dollars per year coaching mostly Black athletes and yet none are speaking up in support of Black history, Black voting rights, or any of the other divisive statements made daily by Ron DeSantis and other Florida republicans.
Year-by-year salaries of Gators head football coaches since 2012
Gators Wire lists the annual salaries of Florida’s head football coaches, including Will Muschamp, Jim McElwain and Dan…
They want to profit off our bodies but don’t want to support our right to exist or our rights to have our history accurately told.
They know all our football and sports statistics but don’t know how many times we fought off racist attacks, how many of us died in all of America’s wars, what happened to our freedom after “reconstruction”, or how many small businesses we start, how AAVE is its own language, and how there are more famous Black Americans other than Dr. King and Harriet Tubman.
The coaches will make certain their Black players eat, sleep, and drink the playbook so they know it like the backs of their hands, while ignoring that they themselves know nothing Black scientists, mathematicians, scholars, philosophers, writers, or those in the arts.
I am even willing to bet those coaches don’t even know the Black scholars and professors on their own campuses.
Ron DeSantis wants us dead, wants migrants dead, wants women and girls to die from lack of medical care, and wants anyone he determines to be “Woke” to die horrible deaths, no matter he can’t define “woke.”
Outrage after DeSantis says he’d ‘start slitting throats’ if elected president
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The politicians supporting Ron DeSantis expanding racist campaign and commentary are the same ones hosting tailgating parties during college football season cheering on all those Black athletes whose history their favorite governor is determined to erase.
It is time to boycott Florida.
All Black football players should immediately boycott playing for their university. All basketball players should boycott when their seasons start. Those two sports are worth hundreds of billions of dollars to universities and the state. The schools and especially the state do not deserve to profit off Black athletes while remaining indifferent or, worse, supporting Ron DeSantis fascism.
The only Black athletes that should continue to play are those at Historically Black Colleges and Universities — HBCUs. And in fact, Black families should stop sending their sons and daughters athletes to Florida colleges — if they are good enough to play in Florida, they are good enough to play in any other division I or II school.
Florida doesn’t deserve the best Black athletes when they are teaching the worst Black history
The summer concert season going on and, like with the Sun City boycott that was led by singers and musicians, all the current touring singers and performers should refuse to perform in Florida.
The singers who led the boycott of Sun City — Artist United Against Apartheid — were organized by Steven Van Zandt, and the song “I Ain’t Gonna Play Sun City” and included a who’s who of stars including Run-DMC, Bruce Springsteen, David Ruffin, Pat Benatar, Hall & Oates, George Clinton, Eddie Kendricks, Bonnie Raitt, Lou Reed, and Bono, Jackson Brown, and Bob Dylan.
In other words, some of the biggest artists of the time and those who had been invited to perform in Sun City over the years. They joined the decades long protests and requests by Black South Africans to stop feeding money to the racist regime.
Through the efforts of a global community of artists and governments the racist apartheid government was finally removed from power — though their supporters and those who benefited from their racist policies, like Elon Musk and his family, still infect the world with their racism and hate.
Beyonce’s Renaissance and is the biggest tour of the summer. She is big enough to cancel shows and it would not harm her career.
But there are many more performers who will play Florida this summer, including Snoop Dogg, Wiz Khalifa, Too $hort, 50 Cent, Lionel Richie, Earth Wind and Fire, Busta Rhymes, Stephen Marley, Carol G, The Hip Hop 50th Anniversary Tour, Patti Labelle, Katt Williams, and many other singers and comedians who should immediately announce the cancelation of their shows and performances.
We already saw the oldest Black Fraternity pulled their annual convention from Florida due to DeSantis’ due to what Alpha Phi Alpha’s President Dr. Willis Lonzer called the “Continued assault” on Black people.
Black fraternity and engineers group pull conventions out of Florida, over state’s “racist…
The Sunshine State will lose out on roughly $4.6 million in economic activity, Alpha Phi Alpha’s president said.
The NBA has teams in Orlando and Miami and both are, like the rest of the NBA, filled with Black basketball players and coaches. Same with college basketball and professional baseball teams. Black athletes on all of Florida sports teams should boycott, too.
Why should Black players play for teams that, like the Orlando Magic, support and give money to Ron DeSantis?
NBA players’ union says Orlando Magic donation to a DeSantis super PAC is ‘alarming’
The team donated $50,000 to a super PAC that backs the Florida governor’s presidential ambitions, The union said team…
Hollywood writers and artists are rightfully on strike against the studios who are cheating them out of money and healthcare. Once they end their strike they should show solidarity and refuse to film on location in Florida. Why should Black actors and production staff be forced to work in a location that is hostile to their existence?
The time is right and the opportunity is calling for professional athletes, entertainers, conventions, and hollywood to apply pressure on the state of Florida and Ron DeSantis by supporting Black citizens and Black History.
Black people and students, fans, and supporters of sports teams have every right to fight back against the racist policies of their governor.
Now is the time to boycott Florida.
Dear Dean 