Tallahassee, Florida - "Supplemental curriculum" set to hit Florida schools is sparking outrage over its depiction of freedom fighter Frederick Douglass suggesting the US had to "compromise" on slavery.

"Children, our founding fathers knew that slavery is evil and wrong. And they knew that it would do terrible harm to the nation," a cartoon illustration of Frederick Douglass says to a white girl and boy in the "educational" video that could be shown in Florida classrooms.

Neglecting to mention that most of the founding fathers were slaveholders themselves, the animated Douglass goes on to suggest that they left slavery in place as a "compromise" in order "to achieve something great, the making of the United States."

"It was America that began the conversation to end [slavery]," he claims, even though many other countries – including Haiti, Britain, France, Denmark, Ecuador, Venezuela, Colombia, Chile, Mexico, and the Federal Republic of Central America (present-day Guatemala) – outlawed slavery before the United States.

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The character then cautions the children that ending large-scale social problems – like the mass enslavement, murder, torture, and disenfranchisement of millions of Black people – requires a gradual, incrementalist response.

In making that point, "Douglass" contrasts himself with American Anti-Slavery Society founder William Lloyd Garrison. The cartoon implies the two had irreconcilable differences due to the latter's rejection of the US' slavery-based economy and political system as inherently corrupt.

In reality, Douglass and Garrison were longtime allies who had disagreements but later reconciled and remained friends.

"Our system is wonderful. And the Constitution is a glorious liberty document. We just need to convince enough Americans to be true to it," the fake Douglass concludes in the clip.

The video has sparked intense backlash for its gross misrepresentation of Frederick Douglass, one of the greatest thinkers and activists in all of American history.

The real Douglass was born into slavery in Maryland before he escaped and became a renowned orator and leader of the international abolitionist movement. He took on everyone from his enslavers to President Abraham Lincoln, demanding that Black people not only receive their freedom, but also their rightful recognition as equals in the country they built.

On top of that, Douglass was a fierce campaigner for women's suffrage and the first African American nominated to serve as vice president on a US party ticket.

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The video twisting Douglass' legacy was created by PragerU, a non-profit that makes rightwing educational materials, and has already been approved by the Florida Board of Education.

It comes after the board, under Republican Governor Ron DeSantis, adopted new standards for Black history instruction claiming some Black people may have benefited from their enslavement by learning "skills."