On Monday, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (R-Fla.) announced that he will be signing legislation to create a new state holiday honoring all victims of Communism.
As reported by Fox News, November 7th will be the date for observance of this new holiday, formally titled “Victims of Communism Day.” In addition to the new holiday, DeSantis also announced $25 million in funding for renovations to the Freedom Tower in Miami, which once served as a Cuban Assistance Center for those who fled the Communist state of Cuba.
“Honoring the people that have fallen victim to communist regimes and teaching our students about those atrocities is the best way to ensure that history does not repeat itself,” said DeSantis in a statement. “Through HB 395 and the funding announced today, we are guaranteeing that the history of those who fled communist regimes and their experiences are preserved and not forgotten by our students. While it’s fashionable in some circles to whitewash the history of communism, Florida will stand for truth and remain as a beachhead for freedom.”
The bill orders all public schools in the state to observe the holiday every year, and also mandates that all high school students take a U.S. government class that will dedicate at least 45 minutes of instruction focusing on the holiday and its meaning, starting in the 2023-2024 academic year.
The classes in question must focus on multiple Communist figures, regimes, and atrocities, including “Mao Zedong and the Cultural Revolution, Joseph Stalin and the Soviet System, Fidel Castro and the Cuban Revolution, Vladimir Lenin and the Russian Revolution, Pol Pot and Khmer Rouge, and Nicolás Maduro and the Chavismo movement,” among others.
DeSantis used the signing of the bill to further criticize the glorification of Communism and other far-left ideologies by the modern American Left, and even some figures in the Democratic Party.
“There are probably more Marxists on college faculties in the United States than there are in all of Eastern Europe combined,” DeSantis said at a press conference on Monday. “They don’t want to go back to communism.”