Recently, the NAACP issued what it calls a "formal travel advisory" to warn Black Americans against visiting Florida. "Florida is openly hostile toward African Americans, people of color and LGBTQ+ individuals," the group said. "Before traveling to Florida, please understand that the state of Florida devalues and marginalizes the contributions of, and the challenges faced by African Americans and other communities of color."

Just in case anyone missed the point, NAACP President Derrick Johnson added: "Under the leadership of Gov. DeSantis, the state of Florida has become hostile to Black Americans and in direct conflict with the democratic ideals that our nation was founded upon."

It just so happens the NAACP released its dramatic "travel advisory" at the moment DeSantis became a candidate for the Republican presidential nomination. With its "travel advisory," the NAACP has made itself part of the story.

Speaking of coincidences, another civil rights group, the League of United Latin American Citizens, or LULAC, just happened to issue what it called a "historic warning against Latinos traveling to Florida." Like the NAACP "travel advisory," the LULAC warning focused on DeSantis, accusing the governor of "creat[ing] a shadow of fear within communities across the state."

What are the odds? Two splashy "travel advisories," receiving lots of press coverage, right as DeSantis prepares to make official his bid for president?

The liberal Brookings Institution has done a study of black migration inside the United States. Last September, it published its findings under the heading, "A 'New Great Migration' is bringing black Americans back to the South." Brookings found that for the years 2015 to 2020, the most recent for which data are available, Florida was the third most popular destination in the country for Black Americans to move. (The two top destinations were Texas and Georgia.) In all, from 2015-2020, a total of 36,140 black Americans moved to Florida.

As far as the LULAC "historic warning" is concerned, it is also true that thousands of Hispanic Americans are moving to Florida. First, the number of U.S. citizens moving from Puerto Rico to Florida has been huge. "The migration of hundreds of thousands of Latinos from Puerto Rico to Central Florida is reshaping the contours of Latino life in the state," reports the Hispanic Federation, "creating the most important demographic development since the arrival of Cubans in the 1960s."

So now, with thousands of Black and Hispanic Americans flocking to Florida, and the governor of the state attracting more attention as he prepares to enter the race for president, two powerful Black and Hispanic interest groups are screaming: Don't go! Ron DeSantis is a bad man! Don't go! With Gov. DeSantis a serious contender to become the Republican candidate for the White House, their motives could not be more clearly political. And people are not listening.

Bryon York is on Twitter, @BryonYork.