The Reverend Al Sharpton rallying attendees at the "Save our History" rally held at the Florida Capitol Wednesday.
Sharpton joined by Reverend RB Holmes and others to march from Bethel Missionary Baptist Church to the capitol in protest.
Their main point of contention, Governor Desantis rejecting the instruction of a high school Advanced Placement African American Studies course.
Hundreds of people from around the state marching at the Florida Capitol to have their voices heard and fight for black history to not be erased.
One of those is Mary Milton. Milton helped write some of the curriculum for students at Florida State University in the 1970's. Having seen segregation and fighting for diversity and inclusion in schools for years, she is stunned to hear the proposal of eliminating African American studies in 2023. Milton is now marching for her two grandchildren.
"I'm out here to stand up for my grandkids because I want them to know my history and their history, and it shouldn't be taken away from anyone," said Milton.
People traveling from across the state to make their voices heard. Isaac Williams is a pastor traveling from Pensacola also experienced segregation and knows why history like what he's lived through is important for American history.
"We went to black schools, we went to white schools. They gave us the hand down books that the white used. Everybody had their names in their books before we got our books and then we were walking while the school bus would ride by us. That's what he is trying to do inch by inch," said Williams.
Marching hand in hand, three freshmen from Chiles high schools saying the lack of AP African American studies being taught will directly affect them and their future.
"If they got rid of AP's, it would affect everybody. If you want to get into any school, like Ivy leagues, they're not going to look at you if you don't have college board classes," said Izzy Cummings.
The Tallahassee Chapter of the National Action Network says their next steps are to continue to fight for their voices to be heard and urge lawmakers to not eliminate African American studies in high schools.
