The College Board released the official curriculum for a new Advanced Placement course in African American studies on Wednesday, the first day of Black History Month. But people are divided on some of the changes announced in the curriculum weeks after the state of Florida banned the course.
In the announcement, College Board CEO David Coleman called the newly revised course, which high schoolers can take for college credit, “an unflinching encounter with the facts and evidence of African American history and culture.”
But critics point out that the newest iteration of the course is now missing several themes and voices from Black scholars that were originally presented in a pilot program already being taught at dozens of schools this year across the country. Others are saying changes to the curriculum were made to appease Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis after his administrationrejected the original iteration of the course last month.
The state’s Department of Education did not immediately respond to requests for comment by NPR.
The College Board refuted claims from a New York Times article that it removed all mentions of Black feminism or the “gay experience” from its curriculum, or that some of the revisions were made to appease the DeSantis administration.
The College Board also said that the revisions were “substantially complete … weeks before Florida’s objections were shared.”
Duke University professor Kerry Haynie, who helped develop the AP course, also called Times‘ claims “wildly misleading, at best.”
“We reject any claim that our work either indoctrinates students or, on the other hand, has bowed to political pressure,” Haynie…
Read the full article here
