MIAMI, Fla. (WFLA) – Gov. Ron DeSantis and other leaders spoke Friday at the Miami Freedom Tower to commemorate Florida’s Victims of Communism Day.
The governor said he believes Florida is the only state with a holiday like this, created in 2022 as a way to remember those who suffered and lost their lives under the communist regime. The award is given on November 7th every year.
“It is important to speak in a very clear way about the destruction and lives and 100 million deaths at the hands of Marxist-Leninism,” the governor said.
The venue for the press conference, the Miami Freedom Tower, was likely chosen because of its association with refugees fleeing the communist regime. According to the building’s website, it served as the Cuban Refugee Center from 1962 to 1974, assisting thousands of Cubans seeking asylum in the United States.
According to the statute establishing the holiday, students at Florida’s public high schools will receive a 45-minute lesson about various communist leaders throughout history and “how the victims suffered under these regimes through poverty, hunger, immigration, systematic lethal violence, and suppression of speech.”
“With the 250th anniversary of the United States approaching next summer, I think this is a great opportunity for young people to understand America’s founding principles and how communism and Marxism-Leninism are completely at odds with the ideals set forth by our founding fathers,” DeSantis said.
