More to the history

Civil rights lawyers say they’re ready to sue DeSantis over African American studies course | Jan. 26

“There are many gaps in American history regarding the African American population” said Victoria McQueen, a junior at Leon High School. This is putting it mildly. I am no historian but consider myself fairly well read and informed. And yet, to take just one example, until a couple of years ago I had never even heard of the Tulsa Race Massacre of 1921 in which a prosperous Black neighborhood was obliterated with shootings, lynchings and even bombed from airplanes. High school students are not little snowflakes who will melt if they read about this.

Pete Wilford, Holiday

Richer and poorer

Vouchers pass first test | Jan. 27

Gov. Ron DeSantis and the Legislature can’t wait to spend nearly $2.4 billion, by some estimates, on expanding the school voucher program, so that it will now cover the wealthiest families in the state. At the same time, they ignore the nearly one million Floridians who will lose their health care through Medicaid — caused by that same governor and same Legislature. The COVID-based program, by which the federal government temporarily expanded Medicaid eligibility, is ending and Florida, with its stubborn refusal to expand Medicaid, as 39 other states have done, once again thumbs its nose at those individuals who will lose coverage. More gifts to the rich, more snubs to the poor and working class.

Stephen Phillips, St. Petersburg

Curbing what, again?

Florida will curb college diversity efforts at colleges, universities, Nunez says | Jan. 24

Question: What is the opposite of diversity and inclusion?

Peter Meylan, St. Petersburg

Looks like war

US, Germany sending battle tanks to aid Ukraine war effort | Jan. 26

Now that Congress has appropriated more than $67 billion in military aid for Ukraine, we are being peer-pressured by Germany to send them some of our tanks and presumably use our soldiers to train Ukrainians to fight with them. After all this, how will we explain to Russian leader Vladimir Putin that the United States is not at war with Russia?

David Fraser, Clearwater