Fox News reports that Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) has signed a piece of legislation that will establish a Victims of Communism Day. 

DeSantis, symbolically, signed the legislation on Monday, May 9, at Miami, Florida’s, Freedom Tower.

This is the tower at which tens of thousands of Cuban immigrants gained entry to America in the 1960s and 1970s after fleeing Fidel Castro’s revolution.

The bill that DeSantis signed is House Bill 395.

The details of HB 395

The main thing that House Bill 395 does is establish November 7 as Florida’s Victims of Communism Day.

Public schools are called upon to observe the day. And, according to a press release from DeSantis’s office, beginning in the 2023-2024 school year, “high school students will be required to receive at least 45 minutes of instruction in their required United States Government class on topics related to communist regimes and how victims suffered at the hands of these regimes.”

DeSantis, on May 9, also did two other things.

He announced that he will approve the allocation of $25 million for restoring and renovating Freedom Tower. And, he signed Senate Bill 160, which, among other things, will include three road designations that will “honor brave Cubans who fought against the Castro Regime.”

Preventing history from repeating itself

DeSantis put out a statement explaining why he signed the bill.

He said:

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. 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.

DeSantis also took a shot at the political left for its attempt to “whitewash” history. “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,” DeSantis said.

DeSantis, at the press conference, noted, “There are probably more Marxists on college faculties in the United States than there are in all of Eastern Europe combined. They don’t want to go back to communism.”