WH Reporter At Briefing Asks If Racist Mass Shooting in Jacksonville ‘Connected’ To DeSantis Black History Changes

Senior White House Adviser Stephen Benjamin was asked at a briefing if the racist mass shooting in Jacksonville is connected to Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and changes he’s supported to Black History education.

DeSantis was  booed by the crowd at a vigil for victims of a racist mass shooting in Jacksonville in which three Black people at a Dollar General Store were killed by a racist suspect using a high-powered rifle decorated with swastikas and a handgun. Some in the crowd accused DeSantis of having encouraged the shooting with his policies and campaign rhetoric.

Benjamin — who was the first Black mayor of South Carolina’s capital city, Columbia, and is currently the director of the White House’s Office of Public Engagement — joined Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre at Monday’s White House press briefing, during which NPR White House correspondent Franco Ordoñez asked about the role of DeSantis’s policies in the shooting:

FRANCO ORDONEZ: Does the White House see any connection with the changes that the Florida governor has made in teaching about African American history to the kind of violence that we saw in Jacksonville?

DIRECTOR BENJAMIN: The President is — has been very clear — again, in the piece he penned this morning and I think probably more so in action — his actions last month in working to establish the — the monuments to Emmett Till and Mamie Till — Mamie Till Mobley, of course, recognizing, commemorating the sad event of his murder but also recognizing the courage of his mother in making sure that she helped light the fuse that set in action significant events of the Civil Rights Movement.

That action establishing these monuments in Mississippi and in Illinois was meant to make sure people understand that we cannot rewrite American history. We have to tell the good with the bad, and that is edifying to the soul of this country.

And the President — since day one, you’ve heard him talk about his personal reaction to Charlottesville. Redeeming the soul of America is cent- — central to who Joe Biden is as a man and why he chose to run for president as a — as a candidate.

So, I don’t think it’s a stretch to suggest that — that trying to rewrite American history is not only wrong but it also encourages our children and those among us not to lean in to the — to the beautiful and also painful past of what our history looks like and encouraging people to move forward together.

The subject of Black History education came up a few moments later when Benjamin was asked how the administration will address the various efforts to police Black History:

Q Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Obviously, students are going back to school around this time of year. The President has talked about book bans; a lot of these bans are going into effect. Could you talk about what the White House — what the administration is doing to address the fact that, as we — as you talked about earlier, parts of Black history, parts of American history are being impacted by these book bans in various states?

DIRECTOR BENJAMIN: Sure. No, it’s a — it’s — it’s so important. And purely if — if some people — you know, we come from a world where we know that even two people equally (inaudible) can see the same thing very differently. Rewriting history is not necessarily one of those things.

But if you do see these things philosophically differently, it’s important to know, however, that our children, if we’re going to compete on a global stage, must at least know their own history. You can’t step into a job interview on one of the other continents and the people in that room know more about your history than you do.

And I think — I think purely as a matter of competition, not — not equity and common sense — it’s important that children understand, again, the beauty of the greatest democratic nation in the history of the world but also the challenges that brought us to this point.

So, I do know this is something that the President and Vice President feel very strongly about and will continue to make sure that we make full access to American history available to all of our children.

Watch above via The White House.