Welp, it was bound to happen
NAACP issues a Florida travel warning
This weekend, the NAACP’s board of directors issued a travel warning to tourists heading for Florida. The warning stated, in part:
"Florida is openly hostile toward African Americans, people of color and LGBTQ+ individuals. Before traveling to Florida, please understand that the state of Florida devalues and marginalizes the contributions of, and the challenges faced by African Americans and other communities of color."
In 2017, the NAACP issued a similar warning about my home state, Missouri. It was the organization’s first statewide travel advisory ever and it said, in part:
“Individuals traveling in the state are advised to travel with extreme CAUTION. Race, gender and color based crimes have a long history in Missouri.”ace, gender and color based crimes have a long history in Missouri.”
That was accurate, as well. The warning came three years after the killing of Michael Brown in Ferguson, which was in keeping with my state’s historic mistreatment of members of the Black community.
Do advisories such as this harm states such as Missouri and Florida? That’s tough to say. It isn’t a boycott per se, but an acknowledgement that not everyone will be made to feel welcome. And that? Is horrifying.
My ardent prayer is that every athlete, every entertainer, every corporate gathering, refuse to attend schools, offer concerts and convene meetings or games, in Florida.
We should all be absolutely refusing to financially support Florida. We all talk about preserving democracy and standing as allies for those who are oppressed and attacked. That's nice. However, unless we are willing to refuse to vacation there, refuse to buy any product or service sold there or originating there, refuse to book cruises that use Florida's ports, refuse to buy or rent time at "snowbird" lodgings, refuse to support their sports teams, then it's just talk - nothing more. Talk is cheap: walk the walk or admit you're not an ally - you're part of the problem.