BATON ROUGE -- After heavy criticism from Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida, the College Board released Wednesday an official curriculum for its new Advanced Placement course in African American studies -- stripped of much of the subject matter that had angered the governor and other conservatives.
The College Board purged the names of many Black writers and scholars associated with critical race theory, the queer experience and Black feminism. It ushered out some politically fraught topics from the formal curriculum.
Those topics, including Black Lives Matter, slavery reparations and queer life, are not part of the exam. Instead, they are included only on a sample list states and school systems can choose from for student projects.
The College Board, which oversees AP exams, said revisions to the course were substantially complete before DeSantis shared his objections.
"The fact of the matter is that this landmark course has been shaped over years by the most eminent scholars in the field, not political influence," the organization said in a written statement.
The revised curriculum will guide the course's expansion to hundreds of additional high schools in the next academic year. College Board officials said developers consulted with professors from more than 200 colleges, including several historically Black institutions, and took input from teachers piloting the class.
The students at Baton Rouge Magnet High School, one of 60 schools around the country testing the course, were aware of the political contention over the course. But the class on Monday was filled with discussion of the Negritude and Negrismo movements that celebrated Black culture and a painting by the Afro-Asian-Latino artist Wifredo Lam.
Afterward, senior Kahlila Bandele, 18, said she doesn't understand arguments that the course would indoctrinate children.
[DOCUMENT: Read Revised AP Black History course » arkansasonline.com/02blackhistory/]
"I don't feel particularly indoctrinated," she said.
The discussion in her Advanced Placement course on African American studies touched on figures from Marcus Garvey and Malcolm X to Jimi Hendrix and Rihanna. In her AP European History course, she said, "we're not discussing Black people at all" -- even though they were colonized by Europeans.
DeSantis, a possible Republican presidential candidate in 2024, said he was blocking the course in Florida because it pushed a political agenda.
"In the state of Florida, our education standards not only don't prevent, but they require teaching Black history, all the important things. That's part of our core curriculum," DeSantis said at a news conference last week. "We want education and not indoctrination."
A spokesperson for DeSantis on Wednesday said the state education department is reviewing the revised curriculum for compliance with Florida law.
Despite the College Board's assurances otherwise, the notion that the course changed because of political controversy generated fresh anger Wednesday. "To wake up on the first day of Black History Month to news of white men in positions of privilege horse trading essential and inextricably linked parts of Black History, which is American history, is infuriating," said David Johns, executive director of the National Black Justice Coalition.
The course has been popular among students in schools where it has been introduced. In Baton Rouge, so many students were interested that Emmitt Glynn is teaching it to two classes, instead of just the one he was originally planning.
Earlier this week, his students read selections of "The Wretched of the Earth" by Frantz Fanon, which deals with the violence inherent in colonial societies. In a lively discussion, students connected the text to what they had learned about the conflict between colonizers and Native Americans, to the war in Ukraine and to police violence in Memphis.
"We've been covering the gamut from the shores of Africa to where we are now in the 1930s, and we will continue on through history," Glynn said. He said he was proud to see the connections his students were making between the past and now.
For Malina Ouyang, 17, taking the class helped fill gaps in what she has been taught. "Taking this class," she said, "I realized how much is not said in other classes."
Matthew Evans, 16, said the class has educated him on a multitude of perspectives on Black history. He said the political controversy is just "a distraction."
"Any time you want to try to silence something, you will only make someone want to learn about it even more," he said.
The College Board offers AP courses across the academic spectrum, including math, science, social studies, foreign languages and fine arts. The courses are optional. Taught at a college level, students who score high enough on the final exam usually earn course credit at their university.
In Malcolm Reed's classroom at St. Amant High School in Louisiana, where he teaches the AP class, he tries to be mindful of how the material and discussions can affect students.
"I give them the information and I've seen light bulbs go off. I ask them, 'How does it affect you? How do you feel about learning this?' " he said. "It's also new for me, and I'm just taking it in stride. We're not just learning history, but we're making history."
CONCERN IN ARKANSAS
Last week -- before Wednesday's release of the new course framework -- Arkansas education officials had asked the College Board for additional information on the African American Studies course. They said they did so they said to determine whether the course is in conflict with Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders' Jan. 10 executive order prohibiting "indoctrination and critical race theory in schools."
"Concerns about the content of the course have been brought to our attention," Krystal Nail, Arkansas' program director in the Office of Gifted and Talented and Advanced Placement, wrote to the College Board. "DESE leadership is requesting additional information about the course objectives and contents."
DESE is the state Division of Elementary and Secondary Education.
On Wednesday, Kimberly Mundell, spokesman for the division, said the state agency will take the newly released revised framework for the course under consideration.
"We need time to review the changes," she said.
In her executive order, Sanders directed that the state's secretary of education, Jacob Oliva, formerly of the Florida Department of Education, do a comprehensive review of instructional materials.
If any items are found "that conflict with the principle of equal protection under the law," the state's education secretary is directed "to amend, annul, or alter those rules, regulations, policies materials, or communications to remove the prohibited indoctrination," the executive order states.
Two Arkansas high schools, Little Rock Central High and The Academies of Jonesboro High, are among 60 schools nationally offering the College Board's pilot course on African-American Studies this year. The teacher of the 27-student course at Central High this week has defended the pilot course, saying that it does not violate the executive order.
Information for this article was contributed by Cheyanne Mumphrey, Sharon Lurye and Stephen Smith of The Associated Press and by Cynthia Howell of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.
This Monday, Jan. 30, 2023 photo shows Baton Rouge Magnet High School in Baton Rouge, La. Baton Rouge Magnet High School in Louisiana is one of 60 schools around the country testing the new course, which has gained national attention since it was banned in Florida. (AP Photo/Stephen Smith)
This Monday, Jan. 30, 2023 photo shows Baton Rouge Magnet High School in Baton Rouge, La. Baton Rouge Magnet High School in Louisiana is one of 60 schools around the country testing the new course, which has gained national attention since it was banned in Florida. (AP Photo/Stephen Smith)
Emmitt Glynn is seen from just outside his classroom at Baton Rouge Magnet High School teaching his second AP African American studies class on Monday, Jan. 30, 2023 in Baton Rouge, La. Baton Rouge Magnet High School in Louisiana is one of 60 schools around the country testing the new course, which has gained national attention since it was banned in Florida. (AP Photo/Stephen Smith)