TAMPA, Fla. (WFTS) — Don't come to Florida. That's the message coming from the NAACP following recent legislation in Florida.
"What it is, is just bringing attention to what African American people are going through in the state of Florida. A lot of injustice, and we have a target on back based upon our race," said Hillsborough County NAACP Chapter President Yvette Lewis.
The travel advisory is a direct response to Governor Ron DeSantis' policies, like his move to ban AP African-American History from Florida classrooms and his most recent ban on EDI on Florida college campuses.
Equality Florida and the League of United Latin American Citizens issued travel advisories last month for the same reasons.
"We have been talking about this, and we, the NAACP, Florida State Conference, and National, had been talking about this for months and months. And so it had gotten to the point where you know, in the words of Fannie Lou Hamer. Enough is enough, you know. I'm sick and tired of being sick and tired," Lewis said.
The groups hope to hit the state's economy, which has been booming lately. Nearly 444,500 people moved to Florida in 2022. Nearly 140,000 million vacationed in Florida in the same year. That brought in $100 billion to the state.
We showed the advisory to travelers at Tampa International Airport and asked for their thoughts.
The answers varied. No one had heard of the advisory, granted it was just approved a day prior.
After talking to us, some felt it is a smart idea. Others, not so much.
"My opinion, like, if you think that you can keep people from coming to an entire state in the United States of America, like, land of the free, there's really no reason that anybody should even heed this warning, you know, seems like it's stirring up a lot of trouble. And in our opinion, we don't see as much. But maybe that's my son who lives here. I mean, he's in a biracial marriage. So like, we don't see it," said a visitor, preparing to leave Florida and head back to their home in Texas.
"Any fightback is going to be good enough like that. People need to fight back more against what he's doing," said another local traveler.
There are examples of advisories working.
In 1999, the NAACP issued a travel advisory over South Carolina. The state flew the Confederate flag at the capital. The flag was finally taken down in 2015 when the ban was lifted. However, it cost the state about 20 years of NCAA tournaments and other opportunities.
That same year, Indiana earned a travel advisory for its Religious Freedom Restoration Act. According to Forbes, the stare lost about $60 million.
Hillsborough NAACP Chapter President Yvette Lewis feels the same impact could happen in Florida.
"It's heard around the United States. It definitely will have an economic effect on the state of Florida. Our dollars are green, just like everyone else," she said.
The NAACP said they don't plan to lift the advisory until changes are made to legislation.
Governor Ron DeSantis has not commented on the travel advisories yet. However, both the Tampa and St. Pete mayors tweeted, saying they welcome any and everyone with open arms.
