For the first time ever, the College Board is working with schools to offer Advanced Placement (AP) courses and tests in African American Studies. Sixty schools nationwide are participating in this pilot program.
The new initiative comes at a time when politicians are accusing school teachers of teaching Critical Race Theory and books on Black history are being pulled from some library shelves. AP courses in African American Studies will likely be banned in some schools.
AP courses are usually the most rigorous courses at most high schools. They are designed to prepare students for college and academic credit at colleges may be available. The courses cover a variety of topics from the history of Africa, to African American music and art. They are also expected to add significantly to the study of the Reconstruction Era. According to a report in Time Magazine this week:
While the Reconstruction era after the Civil War is often skimmed over in high school U.S. history classes, AP African American Studies delves into progress made at that time, as well as how the roots of today’s mass incarceration system can be traced back to that era…. In light of the newest federal holiday, Juneteenth, the curriculum features a primer on June 19, 1865, when the enslaved in Galveston, Texas, learned that they were free.
The College Board says it first began work on the AP course a decade ago, but at the time most colleges said would not grant credits to students successfully completing it. When the College Board asked about it again recently, the answer was a resounding Yes to credits for the course.
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