Tell the College Board: Reinstate the full African American Studies AP curriculum
David Coleman, President of the College Board
The College Board just announced that there would be a new AP course and exam focusing on African American Studies. This is a long-overdue step forward that will allow high school students to learn more about African American history and culture. But unfortunately, extremist politicians are undermining this progress by throwing a fit over what’s included in the curriculum - and they got the College Board to change it so it eliminates important teachings about Black women, LGBTQ people, and modern movements for justice and equality. This is despite the fact that the pilot curriculum was very popular among students and teachers who have already used it!
This sets a really dangerous precedent. If the College Board doesn’t reverse its decision, it sends a really dangerous message that politicians, not educators, get to decide what students learn in school.
High school students deserve better. Black kids deserve to learn about their own history and culture in school, and all kids deserve to learn our true history, to learn about diverse experiences and identities, and to read award-winning books. Politicians are trying to claim this is what parents want, but they’re wrong. We want our kids to learn and be both challenged and supported in school.
Tell the College Board President David Coleman to put students first, and reinstate the parts of the African American Studies curriculum that they removed due to political pressure.
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To:
David Coleman, President of the College Board
From:
[Your Name]
This African American History month, we are happy to see the College Board introduce a new African American Studies AP course and exam. Parents know that all students deserve to learn about our rich, complex history and present including achievements and movements of Black Americans. However, it was extremely disappointing to learn that you had bowed to political pressure and removed some of the most important parts of the curriculum, putting politics over what is best for students.
According to an article in the New York Times, due to political pressure, you removed aspects of the curriculum that related to Black feminism, LGBTQ experiences, and modern-day movements for equality and justice. You also removed important writers like bell hooks and Ta-Nehisi Coates. This deprives high school students of the best possible education they can receive, and it underestimates their ability to deal with complex or hard concepts. Additionally, it sets a dangerous precedent that AP curriculum should be decided by politicians, not educators.
Over the past few years, we have seen politicians meddling more and more with education, using our kids’ future as fodder for grandstanding. Even worse, they say it’s what parents want, but we’re sick of this meddling. I am part of ParentsTogether, an organization representing more than 3 million parents. We want our kids to get a real education to prepare them for the future.
Please reconsider your decision about the African American Studies curriculum and exam. Our kids deserve a real education.