Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc., canceled plans to hold its 99th General Convention and 119th Anniversary Convention in Orlando, Fla., and will relocate to a different state for the 2025 events that were expected to pour millions of dollars into the local economy.

The nation’s first intercollegiate Greek-letter fraternity for Black men joins a growing list of African-American organizations that are protesting what they say are discriminatory policies by Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis and the state’s GOP-controlled legislature.

“In this environment of manufactured division and attacks on the Black community, Alpha Phi Alpha refuses to direct a projected $4.6 million convention economic impact to a place hostile to the communities we serve,” General President Dr. Willis L. Lonzer III said in a July 26 statement announcement.

“Although we are moving our convention from Florida, Alpha Phi Alpha will continue to support the strong advocacy of Alpha Brothers and other advocates fighting against the continued assault on our communities in Florida by Governor Ron DeSantis.”

The decision to relocate the events came after the state education department approved new standards for teaching Black history in public schools on July 19. The controversial curriculum guidelines include teaching students that slaves learned skills that “could be applied for their personal benefit” and highlight violence perpetrated “against and by” Black Americans.

There was an immediate backlash from opponents – including Vice President Kamala Harris – who say the new standard is the latest attempt by Florida Republicans to whitewash the nation’s racist history. But DeSantis and fellow conservatives have defended the curriculum guidelines.

Alpha Phi Alpha said in the announcement that 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.”

The Tallahassee Democrat reports that Kappa Alpha Psi, another Black fraternity, and the National Society of Black Engineers are among the organizations protesting the policies of Florida Republicans. Earlier this month, the Black Engineers group announced that it would no longer hold its 2024 convention in Orlando.

In May, the NAACP issued a formal travel advisory for Florida in “direct response to Governor Ron DeSantis' aggressive attempts to erase Black history and to restrict diversity, equity, and inclusion programs in Florida schools, a statement from the civil rights organization said.

The backlash over the new teaching standards is part of a larger grievance against a series of policies. Before adopting the teaching standards, DeSantis made headlines in January when the state’s education department prohibited public high schools from offering Advanced Placement  African American Studies.

These two moves align with rules he pushed through the GOP-controlled legislature, including his  Stop W.O.K.E. Act that bans lessons in K-12 classrooms and colleges that could make (White) students feel guilty for racial oppression and prohibits topics like White privilege.