Students at Florida’s only public HBCU protest presidential candidate with DeSantis ties

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Florida’s only public historically Black university could soon be run by an ally of Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis, who has restricted the teaching of African American history and banned public colleges from using taxpayer money on diversity programs.

Marva Johnson, a lobbyist and executive for the telecom company Charter Communications and a former member of the state Board of Education, has been named one of the four finalists to be the next president of Florida A&M University. Students rallied against her candidacy on campus Wednesday, while she was interviewed by the school’s board of trustees.

A core mission of FAMU — written into the law that established the school in 1887 — has been to educate African Americans.

The prospect that a DeSantis-aligned candidate could soon lead FAMU has alarmed students, faculty and alumni, who celebrate the university’s legacy of Black excellence, social mobility and cultural pride.

Representatives for DeSantis did not respond to a request for comment from The Associated Press.

Johnson has been appointed to state boards by DeSantis and then-Gov. Rick Scott and has been criticized for her lack of administrative experience in higher education. Before trustees on Wednesday, Johnson touted her skills in navigating the corporate world and the state Legislature.

“As the leader, I am championing resources. I am moving mountains if they get in your way,” Johnson said. “I’m not going to be the best academian at this point in my career.”

While Johnson fielded questions from trustees, dozens of students and alumni gathered at a rally across campus, praying for the future of the university that has lifted up the descendants of enslaved people and helped produce generations of lawyers, pharmacists, architects and engineers.

“We cannot go down in history saying that we had a responsibility and we lost the illustrious FAMU,” said Quincy Griffin, a pastor and alumnus. “Not on my watch.”

Elijah Hooks, a political science student at FAMU and chief of staff at the Florida Student Association, pointed to recent attempts by DeSantis allies to overhaul the University of West Florida and New College of Florida, in what critics called a hostile political takeover.

“They want students to not learn things such as Black studies,” said Hooks. “They want them to be controlled by certain narratives and certain beliefs.”

The efforts to “restrict what we can and cannot learn” is a spit in the face to his ancestors, Hooks said, leading the crowd in chants of “No MAGA Marva!”, a reference to President Donald Trump’s “Make America Great Again” agenda.

Supporters of the university, which hosts about 10,000 students at its campus a few blocks from the state capitol, have long argued the state has underfunded the school, sending more resources to predominantly white institutions like Florida State University, across the railroad tracks from FAMU.

The prospect of the DeSantis administration wresting more control over the HBCU plays into longstanding anxieties that the state could cut into some of the university’s signature programs — or even merge the school with FSU, an idea lawmakers contemplated in the 1960s.

Backlash over FAMU’s apparent failure to properly vet a multimillion-dollar donation from a dubious donor brought fresh scrutiny to the school’s institutional governance last year. Then-president Larry Robinson later resigned, opening the door to new leadership at the school, at a time when DeSantis and his appointees have been exerting more influence over the state’s public universities.

FAMU Trustee Deveron Gibbons, who chairs the presidential search committee, has defended the school’s process as “transparent” and “inclusive” and applauded the four finalists.

“I’m grateful to my fellow trustees, who have approached this process with integrity and care every step of the way. Their commitment has been instrumental in stewarding a process that reflects the values and aspirations of the FAMU community,” Gibbons said.

The school’s Board of Trustees is scheduled to take a vote on the finalists on Friday. Their pick must then be confirmed by the state’s Board of Governors.

___ Kate Payne is a corps member for The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.