Civil rights groups issue travel advisories for Florida in response to DeSantis' 'hostile' legislation

The NAACP issued a travel advisory for people going to the Sunshine State, stating “Florida is openly hostile toward African Americans, people of color and LGBTQIA individuals.”

Michael Curry, chair of the national NAACP advocacy and policy committee, told Greater Boston, that people of color should take the warning seriously.

“If you’re a person of color traveling to Florida, you need to know that they are not teaching real American history in Florida," he said. "They are acting legislatively to restrict the teaching of inclusive history and marginalizing of people. All of us have to act and this advisory is prompting us to do so.”

The NAACP advisory comes days after The League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) issued a similar advisory in response to anti-immigrant laws imposing harsh penalties on those who aid undocumented immigrants. Equality Florida and ACLU of Florida have also issued warnings.

This is only the second time in LULAC’s history the organization has issued this type of advisory, the first being in 2010 for Arizona after the state passed measures allowing law enforcement agents to demand “papers” from people who they suspect are not authorized to be in the U.S.

President and CEO of the League of United Latin American Citizens Domingo Garcia said those policies backfired in Arizona, resulting in the state turning from a red to a blue state, and he thinks the same could happen with Florida.

“You see these things they’re doing, engaging in cultural wars against the gay community, against the African American community, against Latinos and against immigrants," Garcia said. "Once we take that genie of hate out of the bottle, it’s real difficult to get it back in.”

With DeSantis expected to join the 2024 presidential race next week, Curry said many of these measures are meant to appeal to his Republican voter base.

“It’s a culture war and quite frankly all of the constituents we’ve been talking about are casualties of that war,” said Curry. “But Americans' attitudes have shifted since Donald Trump‘s election a few years ago. I’m hopeful that Ron DeSantis will have a rude awakening and we will no longer tolerate that kind of hate.”

In the meantime, Garcia said people need to stay engaged. "Don't get mad, but get organized," she said. "People should register to vote and support candidates that serve and stand for the best of America, liberty and justice for all."

WATCH: 'Don’t get mad, get organized’: Civil rights groups take aim at DeSantis' agenda