Critics are warning that Florida's new social studies standards rehabilitate aspects of McCarthyism and the anti-communist Red Scare.
FILE - A U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent is seen in Park Ridge, Ill., Sept. 19, 2025. Jacksonville lawmaker files Florida bill that would order ICE officers to identify themselves, ban face masks in public Read full article: Jacksonville lawmaker files Florida bill that would order ICE officers to identify themselves, ban face masks in publicOctober home prices fall slightly, inventories rise in Northeast Florida: NEFAR reportNext photo FILE - Dalton Trumbo, left, Hollywood screenwriter, shouts from the witness stand as he tries to make a statement before the House Un-American Activities Committee, Oct.
28, 1947, in Washington. At right is his attorney Robert Kenny. Trumbo was excused from further testimony when he refused to state whether he is or has been a communist. FILE - Dalton Trumbo, center, dark suit, Hollywood film writer is escorted from the witness stand by police Sgt. George Kaelber after he refused to tell the House Un-American Activities Committee, whether he is or has been a communist, Oct. 28, 1947, in Washington. The committee voted to cite him for contempt of Congress. FILE - Sen. Joseph McCarthy gestures during a Senate subcommittee hearing in Washington, D.C., on McCarthy's charges of communist infiltration of the U.S. State Department, March 9, 1950. FILE - Dalton Trumbo, left, Hollywood screenwriter, shouts from the witness stand as he tries to make a statement before the House Un-American Activities Committee, Oct. 28, 1947, in Washington. At right is his attorney Robert Kenny. Trumbo was excused from further testimony when he refused to state whether he is or has been a communist. – The daughter of a Hollywood screenwriter who was imprisoned and blacklisted during the anti-communist Red Scare has decried Florida's new“The new Florida standards you write about are appalling,” Mitzi Trumbo said late Thursday in an email to The Associated Press. “History should never be rewritten to match the politics of the day, as history has valuable lessons to teach.”The standards approved Thursday for middle- and high-school students by the Florida Board of Education include instruction on the use of “‘McCarthyism' as an insult” and how using the terms “red-baiter and Red Scare” is identified with “slander against anti-communists.” The standards soften decades of criticism of former U.S. Sen. Joseph McCarthy, who led a political movement to root out what he labelled communism in government, the Civil Rights Movement and artistic communities in the late 1940s and early 1950s. The public inquisitions, ideological loyalty tests and firings of that period are often viewed as a shameful chapter in U.S. history. The Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union fueled concerns in the late 1940s about communist Soviet spies infiltrating American life, including the movies and U.S. government. Many of the targets of McCarthy and the U.S. House Un-American Activities Committee were banned from jobs and career opportunities for a decade or more. One of them, Dalton Trumbo, who wrote the screenplays for classics including “Roman Holiday” and “Spartacus" used other names or had colleagues take credit for screenplays he wrote in the 1950s because he was on a Hollywood blacklist. Mitzi Trumbo said she and her two siblings had “some difficult and painful experiences growing up in the 1950s” because of their father’s time in prison and the repercussions of him being on the Hollywood blacklist. During the 1940s, Trumbo had been the highest-paid screenwriter in Hollywood. He also was a member of the Communist Party, supporting unions, equal pay and civil rights. When Trumbo and nine other members of the film industry were called before the House Un-American Activities Committee in 1947, they refused to answer questions about their communist affiliations and were found in contempt. Trumbo landed in federal prison for 11 months. While blacklisted, Trumbo wrote screenplays under a pseudonym or fronted by others, including “Roman Holiday” and “The Brave One,” whose scripts won Academy Awards. It wasn't until 1960 when Trumbo was able to get public credit for the screenplays “Exodus” and “Spartacus.” This period of his life was recounted in the 2015 film, “Trumbo," starring actor Bryan Cranston. Other blacklisted Hollywood figures included actress Lee Grant, singer and actress Lena Horne, and actor and director Charlie Chaplin.“It is our responsibility to make sure future generations can thrive and they learn how to think, not what to think,” Layla Collins, a member of the state board of education, said during Thursday's standards meeting. The move follows the Republican-controlled Legislature’s designation of Nov. 7 as Victims of Communism Day in Florida’s public schools, to include at least 45 minutes of instruction on figures such as Mao Zedong and Fidel Castro. Under the new standards, Florida teachers should instruct on efforts by “anti-communist politicians,” such as McCarthy, the House Un-American Activities Committee, President Harry Truman and President Richard Nixon. Teachers also are instructed to identify “propaganda and defamation” used to “delegitimize” anti-communists. “Instruction includes using ‘McCarthyism’ as an insult and shorthand for all anti-communism,” the new standards said. “Instruction includes slander against anti-communists, such as red-baiter and Red Scare.” Trumbo, who exchanged emails with the Associated Press from her northern California home, said she didn’t want to be interviewed by telephone or video because she wasn’t comfortable talking about politics, “especially in today’s political climate.” “I am glad people are speaking out about the actual history of the period and are explaining how careers and lives were destroyed by HUAC and McCarthyism," she said,"and how dangerous such political repression is to our freedom of speech and to democracy itself.”Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.Free Food at Trout River Food Truck Park for those affected by SNAP delaysCity of Jacksonville working to address high cost, lack of availability when it comes to child careMan arrested on DUI manslaughter charges 6 months after crash that killed teacher, toddlerNews4JAX and City Rescue Mission Collect ‘Shoeboxes of Love’ for the HomelessTravis Hunter undergoes knee surgery, Jaguars announce; will miss rest of season1 dead, 1 injured after multiple house fires break out across Jacksonville overnightHere are some tips to avoid fire safety hazards when dealing with cold weatherFall into fun with all the local Northeast Florida events from Nov. 10 - Nov. 16Richard's Swing Makeover Pt. 9: Using a jig to align the hand-forged hardwareGov. DeSantis makes Atlantic red snapper announcement
Fidel Castro Mike Schneider Charlie Chaplin Ron Desantis Richard Nixon Education U.S. News Mitzi Trumbo Lee Grant Entertainment Layla Collins Harry S. Truman Bryan Cranston
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