FAMU Bans Word 'Black' From Black History Month Materials
Seriously?! An HBCU Told Student They Couldn’t Use The Word ‘Black’ On Promotional Materials During Black History Month
Florida A&M University (FAMU) law student Aaliyah Steward is speaking out against what she describes as “censorship” by the historically Black university as she and her organization attempts to promote and celebrate Black History Month.
Aaliyah Steward said she was asked to omit the words “Black,” “affirmative action,” and more from Black History Month promo materials.
Steward, a final-year law student at the HBCU, said she encountered resistance while advertising events for the Black Law Students Association. In an interview with Click News 6, she claimed the university flagged commonly used terms connected to the programming. According to Steward, words such as “Black,” “affirmative action,” and even “women” were restricted in promotional materials.
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She says the experience is especially troubling given FAMU’s history and mission as an institution founded to advance Black education and inclusion.
“We couldn’t use the word ‘Black’ in Black History Month. We would have to abbreviate it,” she said. “I was very angry and baffled because this is a Historically Black College and University, and for them to say we can’t use the word ‘Black’ was kind of insane.”
Here’s what FAMU had to say.
After Click News 6 brought the concerns to university officials, FAMU issued a statement addressing the matter. The university did not dispute Steward’s claims and stressed it was also enforcing the rule to comply with state law.
“Florida A&M University has consistently been in full compliance with Senate Bill 266 and Board of Governors’ Regulation 9.016. We support and have implemented the policy direction established by the Governor, the Legislature, and the Board of Governors as it relates to DEI, and consistent with related federal court rulings,” the university said. “Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University (FAMU) is committed to fostering a campus community that encourages the free exchange of ideas while ensuring an environment of mutual respect, safety, and awareness. The University recognizes that freedom of expression is fundamental to academic inquiry, personal development, and civic engagement.”
Despite the explanation, Aaliyah Steward says the restrictions feel less like compliance and more like censorship.
“I just don’t want us to be censored this way. Not being able to use the word ‘Black’ is very frustrating,” she said.
How is FAMU allowed to ban the word “Black?”
The policies in question stem from Senate Bill 266, signed by Governor Ron DeSantis in May 2023. The law prohibits Florida’s 12 public universities and 28 state colleges from using state or federal funds for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) programs or activities. In January 2024, the Florida Board of Governors, which oversees all of Florida’s public universities, including FAMU, finalized the restrictions by adopting Regulation 9.016, formally banning taxpayer-funded programs that advocate for DEI or promote political or social activism.
At the time, state lawmakers defended the measure.
“Diversity, equity and inclusion, like so many other terms adopted by the woke left, is being used as a club to silence things, to say that if you don’t agree with them, you are somehow racist or homophobic or whatever other word that you want to use to criticize people,” Rep. Randy Fine, R-Brevard County, said at the time according to NBC Miami. “The fact of the matter is these terms have been hijacked by those who want to use them to bully and use them to shut down debate, to actually do the opposite of what these words are supposed to do.”
For Steward, the issue has overshadowed what should be a celebratory final year of law school.
“We’re just trying to promote the core mission statement diversity and inclusion for everybody, so it’s very frustrating,” she said.
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