Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-N.Y.) is sending Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) some books as a “care package.”
In a tweet on Thursday, Bowman wrote, “Hey Cousin Ron!”
“I’m sending you a care package. Hope you like it. These are books you should read — don’t go banning them! Please let me know if you have any comprehension questions,” he added.
He said the package was to help DeSantis “continue your anti-racist journey.”
The first book Bowman highlight is “How to Be an Antiracist” by Ibram X. Kendi.
“I know it’s triggering. It’s a book. It’s talking about race and racism,” he joked. “It’s something you should definitely take a look at. Share it with your Cabinet because it will help you to be more enlightened.”
Watch the video below:
Hey Cousin Ron! @GovRonDeSantis ??
— Congressman Jamaal Bowman (@RepBowman) March 2, 2023
I'm sending you a care package. Hope you like it. These are books you should read — don't go banning them! Please let me know if you have any comprehension questions? pic.twitter.com/YxJNW92bfx
The second book the congressman pointed out was “White Fragility” by Robin DiAngelo.
“I know already you’re triggered. You’re probably falling out of your seat. You’re probably screaming and yelling. You probably want to throw it across the room. Don’t do it,” Bowman said.
He teased the reference to a third book by urging DeSantis not to be “insulted” by its inclusion.
“There have been many scholars who have taught us that everything we need to learn in life, we have been taught in kindergarten,” he continued. “It’s entitled, ‘How to Be Kind in Kindergarten.”
Bowman added, “Cousin Ron, we just want you to be kind. That’s all. And then lastly, we want to send you some sage, Cousin Ron, because you seem mad stressed.”
He then accused the governor of “trying to erase my history” and “trying to erase my culture and my heritage.”
In January, DeSantis announced the state would block an Advanced Placement course on African American studies.
During a press conference, DeSantis said, “That’s the wrong side of the line for Florida standards. We believe in teaching kids facts and how to think, but we don’t believe they should have an agenda imposed on them when you try to use Black history to shoehorn in queer theory, you are clearly trying to use that for political purposes.”
He added, “We want to do history, and that’s what our standards for Black history are. It’s just cut-and-dried history.”
