Travel Ban to Florida Sought by NAACP 

Following an assault in Florida that targeted black people, one group is advising people to stay away from the region. A travel advisory for the state of Florida this next weekend will not be issued by the NAACP Florida State Conference without first seeking permission from the organization’s national office. 

The NAACP in Florida claims that black people are being attacked there. When they were all in attendance at the Florida state conference on Saturday, the hundreds of leaders, including the president of the NAACP in Lee County, unanimously resolved to request permission from headquarters to issue the travel advice. In an effort to convince any black people who are considering moving to Florida to do otherwise, they issued a warning. 

Leaders of the Florida NAACP want to make a strong statement to any and all black people who are considering traveling to Florida. 

James Muwakkil, the Lee County NAACP branch president stated, “What a travel advisory is that it allows us the NAACP to warn other blacks across the country to not come to Florida, not send their children to Florida, not vacation in Florida if you’re black.”  

Muwakkil took part in the decision to issue the travel warning for Florida. He attributes it to one individual and says it is absolutely important. 

“The bullseye has been put on black people’s back by this Governor. And so through this, if getting permission, we’re going to tell the rest of the world that we will not tolerate second-class citizenship,” Muwakkil noted. 

A travel ban is nothing new in Florida. For instance, due to some of the policies and rules Florida has implemented, California has stopped all state-funded travel there, despite the fact that tourism is still thriving. But Muwakkil believes millions of people will listen to the travel advice. 

“There’s over 2,000,000 card-carrying members of the NAACP nationwide. With 2,200 units, the adult branches, the high school chapters, the college chapters, the youth council. That’s a lot of people who’s going to listen to what we say. There will be impact,” Muwakkil said. 

And Muwakkil is aware of the potential implications for black-owned businesses if millions of people do listen. 

“There’s always going to be sacrifice when it comes to progress. There will always be burdens But yet, we have to push through it,” Muwakkil remarked. 

The Florida NAACP’s efforts, according to Muwakkil, are supported by the National Education Association and the American Federation of Teachers.