For over a decade, the College Board has been working with colleges, universities, and secondary schools in the development of its newest and most divisive course to date: AP African American Studies. According to The Time, Trevor Packer, head of the College Board’s AP Program, remarked on the potential of seeing this course finally in teaching amidst increasing awareness throughout social justice movements in March 2020. But, even in an era of growing consciousness and action against injustices directed toward African Americans, there still remains concrete opposition to its curriculum.

Since the introduction of this potential course, Florida’s governor, Ron DeSantis has openly vocalized his criticisms for the class. As The Guardian reports, over the past few months, DeSantis has objected to the assimilation of the class in the state’s curriculum. Banning the pilot run of this course in Florida, DeSantis cited a significant lack of “educational value” and pushed against discussion of queer studies, feminist thought and intersectionality, and critical race theory in the classroom. While the course initially intended to dive deep into the history of the African continent, such pushbacks from political leaders have undoubtedly changed some of its original curriculum. As Vox reports, the early topic of “enslavement in Africa” that focused on discussing enslavement practices found in West Africa before the Trans-AtlanticSlave Trade was removed. On a similar note, an in depth, complete topic on “African Americans and the US occupation of Haiti” was cut down to a mere two days.

The Guardian further points out the effects of DeSantis’s pushback against the writings of female, Black scholars like Angela Davis, Bell Hooks, and Kimberlé Crenshaw, and the effects they had on the newly released, official curriculum. A topic on “the Black feminist movement and womanism” was entirely cut from the curriculum, taking with it texts and readings written by more female Black authors such as Audre Lorde, Alice Walker, and Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor. This is just the tip of the iceberg, however. More topics on Black queer studies, Black pop culture, and Black vernacular also were also downgraded in the final published curriculum.

Yet, this is not to say the course does not address important topics anymore. As The Time reports, the curriculum still includes important topics such as progress made during the Reconstruction era, the roots of today’s mass incarceration system, in-depth lessons on the speeches of Malcolm X, and Black Panther Party’s free breakfast and medical programs, to name a few. The true concern hidden behind every curriculum change, though, remains in the innate objections of educational systems to reject taboo subjects in their classrooms. Schools should be bias-free learning environments, where every topic is addressed unashamedly. Like Vox reports from Yale University historian David Blight, AP African American studies highlights this broader issue, “How do we enhance public schools and teachers?”

Information retrieved from the College Board, Vox, The Time, and The Guardian.