Florida A&M University says banning the word Black from a law student’s Black History Month flyer was a mistake, the result of an “overly cautious interpretation” of a Florida law that prohibits DEI initiatives in higher education.
A student at FAMU’s College of Law, located in Orlando, said last week that the Black Law Students Association was told it could not use the word Black in a flyer for upcoming events. The issue at the historically Black college was first reported by News 6.
Law student Aaliyah Steward told the Orlando Sentinel in an email that the dean told a group of students the administration was given a list of “37 words” that students could not use. She said the president of one of the student organizations told her Black was among those words.
At the time, Steward said in her email, she worried the school was restricting “our speech because they are afraid that they will lose state funding.”
In response, Cecil Howard, the associate provost and interim dean of the law school, on Monday issued a message to students, obtained by the Orlando Sentinel, that said the word was not restricted and that the university’s leadership had not issued the directive.
“What occurred was a staff-level error—an overly cautious interpretation that went beyond what the law requires,” Howard said in her message. “It has been corrected, and I take full responsibility for ensuring it does not happen again.”
Howard also said the university consulted a higher education law expert to make sure the word Black could be used and does not violate state law.
A state law passed in 2023 bans diversity, equity and inclusion efforts at Florida’s 40 public colleges universities, prohibits the spending of public money on DEI activities, and bars initiatives that “promote or engage in political or social activism.”
FAMU President Marva Johnson said in a statement on Monday that the word Black is central to the university’s identity as the state’s sole public historically Black university.
“The University unequivocally confirms that the use of the word ‘Black,’ or the phrase ‘Black History Month,’ does not violate the letter, spirit, or intent of Florida Senate Bill 266, Board of Governors Regulation 9.016, or any relevant federal guidance,” Johnson’s statement said.
The review process for student organizations’ promotional materials will be changed in response to the error, Howard told students in the message. The university will work to develop a review mechanism that will “ensure greater clarity and consistency”, she said.
“Pending full implementation of this process, I will assume sole and final review and approval authority for all communications and event-related materials,” Howard said.