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The College Board announced the official curriculum for the AP African American Studies course, but critics note significant omissions apparently to appease conservative politicians like Governor Ron DeSantis of Florida.
On Wednesday morning (Feb. 1st), the nonprofit education organization released the official curriculum offered in the newest Advanced Placement African American Studies course for high school students. But contemporary Black topics such as intersectionality, reparations, and Black Lives Matter are no longer actively present in the coursework.
The new curriculum, which consists of 234 pages, still contains 79 topics under four subjects – “Origins of the African Diaspora,” “Freedom, Enslavement and Resistance,” “The Practice of Freedom,” and “Movements and Debates.” But contemporary topics such as intersectionality and activism, Black queer studies & Black feminist studies as well as reparations and social justice movements like Black Lives Matter are now absent from the course save for a list where they can be chosen for research projects by students.
“These topics are not a required part of the course framework that is formally adopted by states and that defines the exam. This list is a partial one for illustrative purposes and can be refined by states and districts,” the College Board said of the omitted topics. The pilot version of the course will be offered in 60 high schools across the country, with further expansion slated nationally for the 2024-2025 school year.
The move comes after an early draft was allegedly leaked to conservative publications like the National Review, which the Board denies. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis’ education board stated it would not make it available to students in the state in a letter last month, claiming it was “inexplicably contrary to Florida law and significantly lacks educational value.” DeSantis said when asked afterward that “we don’t believe they should have an agenda imposed on them when you try to use Black history to shoehorn in queer theory, you are clearly trying to use that for political purposes.” Over 200 Black educators blasted the move by DeSantis in a letter posted on Medium on Tuesday (Jan.31st).
Professor Kimberlé W. Crenshaw, whose work is foundational to critical race theory, was omitted from the course along with bell hooks and Ta Nehisi-Coates among others, and expressed her concerns. “African American history is not just male. It’s not just straight. It’s not just middle class,” she stated. “It has to tell the story of all of us.”
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Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has rejected the AP African-American Studies curriculum for students in the state, claiming it “lacks educational value.”
News of the administration’s decision to reject the program was reported on Thursday (Jan.19th), angering many academics and Democratic lawmakers. The state’s education department had expressed its intent in a letter sent to the College Board last week. “As presented, the content of this course is inexplicably contrary to Florida law and significantly lacks educational value,” the letter said. Reportedly, these officials weren’t even aware of what the AP course syllabus contained before their rejection.
There were no specific reasons for their decision given, but other Republican officials have expressed that the curriculum violates the state’s Stop W.O.K.E Act which was signed into law last year by DeSantis. The bill restricts certain racially-based analyses and conversations. DeSantis claims that the legislation is meant to fight “wokeness as a form of cultural Marxism.”
Part of that law was temporarily blocked by a judge last August, citing the “dystopian” reasoning behind it and its potential effects.
The College Board responded to press inquiries that “we look forward to publicly releasing the updated course framework as soon as it is completed and well before this class is widely available in American high schools.” State Democratic lawmaker Anna Eskamani pointed out the hypocrisy of the move. “If I can take American and European history there’s absolutely no reason why, I see no reason why our students shouldn’t have the option to take African-American history,” she said to The Daily Beast. The National Parents Union expressed its outrage at DeSantis’ actions in a statement, writing: “DeSantis continues to be a threat to democratic values as he abuses his power to dictate what Florida students can learn and think about.”
The move is another low point for the Republican governor, who has brazenly enacted policies that have harmed the Black community in Florida over the past few years while setting his eyes on the presidency in 2024. DeSantis has also zeroed in on the LGBTQ+ community with harsh policies, including legislation banning instruction on gender identity and sexual orientation from kindergarten to third grade commonly known as the “Don’t Say Gay” bill which he signed into law last March.
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