Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-N.Y.) is sending Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) some books as a ācare package.ā
In a tweet on Thursday, Bowman wrote, āHey Cousin Ron!ā
āIām sending you a care package. Hope you like it. These are books you should read ā donāt go banning them! Please let me know if you have any comprehension questions,ā he added.
He said the package was to help DeSantis ācontinue your anti-racist journey.ā
The first book Bowman highlight is āHow to Be an Antiracistā by Ibram X. Kendi.
āI know itās triggering. Itās a book. Itās talking about race and racism,ā he joked. āItās something you should definitely take a look at. Share it with your Cabinet because it will help you to be more enlightened.ā
Watch the video below:
The second book the congressman pointed out was āWhite Fragilityā by Robin DiAngelo.
āI know already youāre triggered. Youāre probably falling out of your seat. Youāre probably screaming and yelling. You probably want to throw it across the room. Donāt do it,ā Bowman said.
He teased the reference to a third book by urging DeSantis not to be āinsultedā by its inclusion.
āThere have been many scholars who have taught us that everything we need to learn in life, we have been taught in kindergarten,ā he continued. āItās entitled, āHow to Be Kind in Kindergarten.ā
Bowman added, āCousin Ron, we just want you to be kind. Thatās all. And then lastly, we want to send you some sage, Cousin Ron, because you seem mad stressed.ā
He then accused the governor of ātrying to erase my historyā and ātrying to erase my culture and my heritage.ā
In January, DeSantis announced the state would block an Advanced Placement course on African American studies.
During a press conference, DeSantis said, āThatās the wrong side of the line for Florida standards. We believe in teaching kids facts and how to think, but we donāt 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.ā
He added, āWe want to do history, and thatās what our standards for Black history are. Itās just cut-and-dried history.ā
