(MIAMI) – PEN America today praised the permanent injunction issued by a federal judge in northern Florida against a section of the Stop WOKE Act that restricts private businesses – including private schools and colleges – from discussing advantages or disadvantages based on race.
“This ruling is a victory for free speech and proves Florida is not in fact where ‘woke’ goes to die,” said Katie Blankenship, director of PEN America’s Florida office. “We have long argued that the Stop WOKE Act cannot pass constitutional muster based on its blatant viewpoint discrimination.”
PEN America filed an amicus brief in the case, Honeyfund v. DeSantis, supporting the businesses that challenged the law. In issuing the permanent injunction on Friday, Judge Mark Walker of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida said the statue “violates free speech rights under the First and Fourteenth Amendments to the U.S. Constitution.”
The ruling follows a three-judge appeals court panel’s decision that upheld Walker’s original injunction. The State of Florida did not oppose the motion to make the ruling permanent.
PEN America’s amicus brief said the law had a “profound chilling effect,” not only on employers like Honeyfund, but on educators across the state. The bill’s provisions affect students and educators from kindergarten through college, curtailing their freedom to teach, explain, discuss, or access information on a wide range of topics.
The plaintiffs in Honeyfund said the law would make diversity, equity, and inclusion policies and training in the workplace impossible.
Stop WOKE, which is House Bill 7 or the Individual Freedom Act, restricts Florida teachers and students from learning and talking about issues related to race and gender in classrooms. Florida is one of 21 states that have passed similar educational gag orders.Further challenges to Stop WOKE are being heard before a federal appeals court in Pernell v. Lamb, which secured a preliminary injunction against the law in higher education. PEN America submitted an amicus brief asking the court to uphold the injunction in that lawsuit, as well.
Elly Brinkley, a legal fellow with PEN America, said: “This decision is particularly welcome at a time when diversity, equity, and inclusion programs are under attack across the country, particularly in higher education. ‘DEI’ has become the latest ‘CRT’–a concept redefined and weaponized by the right to censor discussions of race and racism. These bans on DEI programs are blatant viewpoint discrimination and part of a larger attempt to destabilize colleges and universities.
About PEN America
PEN America stands at the intersection of literature and human rights to protect free expression in the United States and worldwide. We champion the freedom to write, recognizing the power of the word to transform the world. Our mission is to unite writers and their allies to celebrate creative expression and defend the liberties that make it possible. Learn more at pen.org.
Contact: Suzanne Trimel, [email protected], (201) 247-5057