{"id":151258,"date":"2026-02-11T06:11:13","date_gmt":"2026-02-11T06:11:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/151258\/"},"modified":"2026-02-11T06:11:13","modified_gmt":"2026-02-11T06:11:13","slug":"florida-am-university-cites-staff-level-error-after-students-say-black-history-month-flyers-were-censored-over-certain-words-afrotech","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/151258\/","title":{"rendered":"Florida A&M University Cites ‘Staff-Level Error’ After Students Say Black History Month Flyers Were Censored Over Certain Words – AfroTech"},"content":{"rendered":"

As AFROTECH\u2122<\/a> previously reported, students at Florida A&M University (FAMU<\/a>) have run into difficulties while promoting events for Black History Month, saying the university\u2019s approval process flags certain words, including the word \u201cBlack.\u201d<\/p>\n

Aaliyah Steward, a final-year law student, brought the issue to News 6, which reported<\/a> the story on Feb. 6, 2026. Steward told News 6\u00a0 that her organization, the Black Law Students Association, had to abbreviate the language used on Black History Month flyers, noting that they also couldn\u2019t use the words \u201cwomen\u201d or \u201caffirmative action.\u201d<\/p>\n

News 6\u2019s report garnered widespread public attention and social media reaction, including from prominent civil rights attorney Ben Crump<\/a> and Grammy Award-winning artist SZA, notes<\/a> the outlet.<\/p>\n

On Monday, Feb. 9, 2026, FAMU responded, citing a \u201cstaff-level error\u201d that caused the issue. News 9 reported that internal university emails suggested that the words weren\u2019t prohibited, but that the issue stemmed from an overly cautious interpretation of state law prohibiting diversity, equity, and inclusion programming from receiving state funding.<\/p>\n

Steward told News 9 that their coverage made all the difference.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was very happy that what\u2019s going on may change now that the public is involved and it\u2019s been brought to light,\u201d Steward shared.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was glad that a lot of people were having the same reactions that we had \u2014 that we broke the news that we were being censored in this way,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n

As AFROTECH\u2122<\/a> previously told you, Florida\u2019s public universities cannot use state or federal funds for certain diversity, equity, and inclusion<\/a> initiatives following Governor Ron DeSantis\u2019 passage of Senate Bill 266.<\/p>\n

When News 6 initially brought Steward\u2019s concerns to the university, officials said they were in full compliance with the legislation, per the outlet.<\/p>\n

University Officials Clarify \u2018Black\u2019 Does Not Violate State Law<\/p>\n

However, FAMU President Marva B. Johnson, J.D., has since clarified that the use of the word \u201cBlack\u201d does not violate state law.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs the state\u2019s only public Historically Black University<\/a>, the word \u2018Black\u2019 is central to the mission and identity of Florida A&M University,\u201d Dr. Johnson said, News 6 reports. \u201cWe take seriously our responsibility to communicate clearly and consistently on matters of law, governance, and public accountability. The University unequivocally confirms that the use of the word \u2018Black,\u2019 or the phrase \u2018Black History Month,\u2019 does not violate the letter, spirit, or intent of Florida Senate Bill 266, Board of Governors Regulation 9.016, or any relevant federal guidance.\u201d<\/p>\n

The College of Law\u2019s interim dean, Cecil Howard, also addressed the situation with students in detail, notes News 9. Howard said he held multiple meetings with students and staff, conducted an internal review of the matter, and will implement any required corrective actions.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"As AFROTECH\u2122 previously reported, students at Florida A&M University (FAMU) have run into difficulties while promoting events for…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":150058,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[72505,5708,734,232,234,233,4443,72506],"class_list":{"0":"post-151258","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-tallahassee","8":"tag-afrotech","9":"tag-black-community","10":"tag-investing","11":"tag-tallahassee","12":"tag-tallahassee-headlines","13":"tag-tallahassee-news","14":"tag-tech","15":"tag-wealth-building"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/151258","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=151258"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/151258\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/150058"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=151258"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=151258"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=151258"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}