Largest, Oldest Black Fraternity Latest to Pull Event Out of Florida Because of State’s Politics

Alpha Phi Alpha, the nation’s oldest Black fraternity, is the latest group to cancel an event scheduled in Florida, in response to Governor Ron DeSantis’ educational policies. 

The fraternity, which counts Thurgood Marshall and Martin Luther King Jr. among its alumni, condemned the DeSantis administration in a July 26 press release and announced that they would no longer hold their 2025 convention in Orlando. 

“Earlier this week, the Florida Board of Education approved a controversial new K-12 curriculum for African American history, which erases Florida’s role in slavery and oppression, blames the victims, and declares that African Americans who endured slavery benefited from the horrific and torturous institution,” Alpha Phi Alpha said in the press release.

“The Fraternity joins a broad coalition of organizations protesting Florida’s barrage of harmful and discriminatory policies on protests, voting rights, education, and diversity, equity, and inclusion.” 

Alpha Phi Alpha is the largest Black fraternity in the country, with close to 200,000 members, as of 2019. In the press release, the fraternity said that the conference was expected to generate $4.6 million for the Florida economy. 

The fraternity's decision follows a similar move from the National Society of Black Engineers, who also pulled an annual conference out of Orlando, due to rising political tensions.

In recent months, many advocacy groups have cautioned marginalized people – particularly Black people and members of the LGBTQ community – from traveling to Florida. 

In May, the NAACP issued a travel advisory, urging Black Americans to be cautious because “the state of Florida devalues and marginalizes the contributions of, and the challenges faced by African Americans and other communities of color.” 

Chief among the reasons for issuing the travel advisory was the DeSantis administration’s decision to not allow Florida high school students to take AP African American studies.

When Vice President Kamala Harris traveled to Florida, in opposition to Florida’s educational policies, DeSantis argued that Democrats were simply covering for “their agenda of indoctrinating students and pushing sexual topics onto children," according to the Tallahassee Democrat.