{"id":152918,"date":"2026-02-12T12:43:13","date_gmt":"2026-02-12T12:43:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/152918\/"},"modified":"2026-02-12T12:43:13","modified_gmt":"2026-02-12T12:43:13","slug":"famu-officials-say-overly-cautious-interpretation-led-to-removal-of-black-from-black-history-month-flyers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/152918\/","title":{"rendered":"FAMU Officials Say \u2018Overly Cautious Interpretation\u2019 Led to Removal Of \u2018Black\u2019 From Black History Month Flyers"},"content":{"rendered":"

Officials at Florida A&M University<\/a> are speaking out after a recent television news report addressed a FAMU law student\u2019s claim that the institution told her not to use the word \u201cBlack\u201d in Black History Month flyers for upcoming events.<\/p>\n

Why the word \u2018Black\u2019 was barred from Black History Month flyers<\/p>\n

As Blavity<\/a> reported, Aaliyah Steward, a student at FAMU\u2019s College of Law, told News 6 Orlando last week that the school advised her not to use the word \u201cBlack\u201d on the flyers she and other students from the Black Law Students Association had created to advertise Black History Month activities.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe couldn\u2019t use the word \u2018Black\u2019 in Black History Month. We need to abbreviate it,\u201d Steward also said, noting the university also barred students from using other terms like \u201caffirmative action\u201d and \u201cwomen.\u201d<\/p>\n

The school didn\u2019t deny Steward\u2019s claim in its response, stating that FAMU has been in \u201cfull compliance with Senate Bill 266 and Board of Governors\u2019 Regulation 9.016,\u201d which Gov. Ron DeSantis spearheaded, along with Republican legislators, to crack down on Florida schools\u2019 use of diversity, equity and inclusion programs. FAMU said it has been in \u201cfull support\u201d of the Governor\u2019s initiative, along with federal court rulings.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was very angry and baffled because this is a Historically Black College and University, and for them to say we can\u2019t use the word \u2018Black\u2019 was kind of insane,\u201d Steward told\u00a0News 6 Orlando.<\/p>\n

FAMU officials respond to Steward\u2019s claim<\/p>\n

On Monday, FAMU President Marva Johnson and the College of Law\u2019s Interim Dean\u00a0Cecil Howard each released statements in response to Staward\u2019s claim in the news report and to provide more context in FAMU\u2019s initial statement on the situation.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat occurred was a staff-level error\u2014an overly cautious interpretation that went\u00a0beyond what the law requires. It has been corrected, and I take full responsibility for\u00a0ensuring it does not happen again,\u201d Howard said in a statement obtained by News One <\/a>and the Tallahassee Democrat<\/a>.<\/p>\n

After the report made headlines, Howard took action and met with some students to gain more clarity on the situation and how to rectify it.<\/p>\n

\u201cI immediately met with some of the students involved to provide clarification and to state unequivocally: the word \u2018Black\u2019 is\u00a0not prohibited. No such restriction exists, and none has been directed by university\u00a0leadership,\u201d Howard said.<\/p>\n

\u2018Black\u2019 does not violate the Florida legislature, according to Johnson and Howard<\/p>\n

Howard also stated that he and Johnson consulted a Florida higher education law expert about the words \u201cBlack,\u201d \u201caffirmative action,\u201d and \u201cwomen\u201d and that the terms do not violate \u201cSenate Bill 266, Board of Governors Regulation 9.016, or relevant federal guidance.\u201d<\/p>\n

Johnson shared similar sentiments, stating that the word \u201cBlack\u201d is \u201ccentral\u201d to the meaning of the largest Historically Black College and University and Black History Month.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs the state\u2019s only public Historically Black University, the word \u2018Black\u2019 is central to the mission and identity of Florida A&M University. We 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 Johnson explained, per News One.<\/p>\n

She continued, \u201cWe will continue to support our students, faculty, and alumni in celebrating Black history in ways that are lawful, authentic, and aligned with the values that define Florida A&M University.\u201d<\/p>\n

The post FAMU Officials Say \u2018Overly Cautious Interpretation\u2019 Led to Removal Of \u2018Black\u2019 From Black History Month Flyers<\/a> appeared first on Blavity<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Officials at Florida A&M University are speaking out after a recent television news report addressed a FAMU law…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":152919,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[63610,48241,72403,73773,2324,51913,73772,232,234,233],"class_list":{"0":"post-152918","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-tallahassee","8":"tag-affirmative-action","9":"tag-black-history-month","10":"tag-black-law-students-association","11":"tag-cecil-howard","12":"tag-florida-am-university","13":"tag-historically-black-college","14":"tag-news-6-orlando","15":"tag-tallahassee","16":"tag-tallahassee-headlines","17":"tag-tallahassee-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/152918","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=152918"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/152918\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/152919"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=152918"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=152918"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=152918"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}