Governor Ron Desantis has successfully banned the teaching of AP African American Studies in the state of Florida. As a proud Florida native, as much as this is disappointing, my shocked face remains an undeviating line across my black face. This is strictly political and what will sell to many members of the right, in a possible effort to gain momentum or a run in the Republican Primaries.
The college board offers a plethora of studies students can choose to indulge in for an AP credit. These can help students broaden their knowledge on certain aspects and can be a segway in college/university studies (If they so choose to attend). More recently, African American Studies has scrapped its way to the curriculum. The interdisciplinary course reaches into a variety of fields—literature, the arts and humanities, political science, geography and science—to explore the vital contributions and experiences of African Americans, according to the College Board.
Designed to be taught over 28 weeks, CNN clarifies that the course covers 79 topics that range from early African kingdoms to how Jim Crow laws impacted African Americans after Reconstruction, as well as the achievements of Black Americans in science, music and art.
Unsurprisingly, right wing legislatures have made efforts to strike this class down and Desantis is leading the charge.
The question begs to be asked, what is this crusade against “anti-wokeness” and the furthering of tough conversations in school? Look no further than his constant crusade of Critical Race Theory in the state of Florida. In its simplest terms. CRT is a study, created by social and civil-rights scholars and activists. It explains how and why laws, social and political movements and media, are shaped by social conceptions of race and ethnicity.
The problem with this crusade is that Desantis is fighting the metaphorical boogeyman, i.e there is no documented teaching of CRT (which is traditionally an optional college course) in K-12 schools. Instead there have been recalls of literature and math textbooks in classrooms across the state. According to NPR, in 2022 Florida rejected 54 math textbooks in fear of CRT language being included.
Furthermore, this hypocrisy runs deeper into his campaign policies. His 2023 policy proposal is to, “[…]realign general education core courses to make sure they provide historically accurate, foundational and career relevant education; not suppress or distort significant historical events or include a curriculum that teaches identity politics.”
This in itself is oxymoronic and counterproductive. One cannot remain historically accurate and not suppress historical values and events, without connecting them to how they affect our economy, education, housing, and political alignment (This aligns similarly to the definition of identity politics).
Courses in African-American history explore major events such as the Civil War and the civil rights movement and examine topics such as slavery, race and gender, not dissimilar to what is being taught in classrooms here in WJ, again as an optional choice.
Universities such as Rutgers, Duke and Harvard all have college programs where students can graduate with degrees in African American History and can be set on that track by taking AP African American Studies in high school, in 2020, 1,267 total degrees were awarded in African American studies; 172,921 people in the workforce making an average wage of $80,099. I am not sure how opposition to this comes from a state ranking 35 out of 50 for graduation rate (of high school or higher) in the US.
The banning of AAAS is detrimental because it sets a precedent for what can now be taught and censored in classrooms throughout the state, harming the education system and slowing progressive process throughout the traditionally conservative state. Despite pushback from the AP board, I predict this sparring match will be fruitless.
