When Governor Ron DeSantis announced he was using his emergency powers to have the State of Florida build a detention facility on a relatively unused airbase in Big Cypress National Preserve in Collier County the idea immediately drew criticisms, including the cost: an estimated $450-millon and the environmental impact: the construction was not going to abide by federal laws requiring environmental impact be considered. The new camp was dubbed ‘Alligator Alcatraz’ not by its critics, but by Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier. Supporters of the idea claimed the wild state of nature around the facility, which includes many alligators, would form an impenetrable barrier preventing escape.
On Aug. 21 U.S. District Judge Kathleen Williams issued a preliminary injunction requested by Friends of the Everglades, the Center for Biological Diversity and the Miccosukee Tribe that cited extensive evidence demonstrating harm to the Everglades caused by operation of the facility. That injunction means the facility must wind down operations in an orderly fashion within 60 days. It is being appealed.
But there is another aspect of this camp and its name that has drawn another kind of criticism: echoes of racist language that bring to mind the trope of ‘alligator bait’ that dates back to the late 1800s and the days of Jim Crow. The term was used in media including newspapers, songs, and visual art to characterize African-American children as bait to lure alligators. While is no direct evidence that Black children were ever actually used as bait, historians say this is an example of language explicitly used to dehumanize.
We explore that history with a reporter from the Miami Herald whose recent article is titled “As the jokes fly, Alligator Alcatraz evokes racist trope of ‘gator bait.’”. And we talk with a Naples Rabbi whose recent sermon titled “A Fence Around Compassion” went viral on Facebook. In that sermon, Rabbi Ammon Chorny talks about how dehumanizing language has been used in the past and how important it is to speak up when faced with injustice.
Guests:
Raisa Habersham, Race and Culture Reporter for The Miami Herald.
Rabbi Ammos Chorny of Beth Tikvah of Naples.
WGCU is your trusted source for news and information in Southwest Florida. We are a nonprofit public service, and your support is more critical than ever. Keep public media strong and donate now. Thank you.
