Equal Ground Education made the following statement in response to the College Board removing key components from their AP African American studies program at the request of Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.
The College Board’s decision to capitulate to Governor Ron DeSantis with respect to the creation and implementation of African American studies is incredibly disturbing and concerning. As an organization committed to advancing and protecting the interest of Black people, we believe the decision to move forward with the launch of this course without key components that are inextricably part of the Black experience is akin to educational malpractice. For an “Independent” nonprofit organization to allow a Governor with no professional experience in higher education to dictate what should be taught to students nationwide is power no person should hold alone. In the official course framework for the AP African American Course, College Board contends that “Thousands of Advanced Placement teachers have contributed to the principles articulated” in the document and gives special acknowledgment to dozens more who played a critical role in developing the course, one could only imagine how these individuals feel about their work being usurped by a Governor who cares more about his political ambition than the educational integrity of the course they co-created.
We recognize that the College Board has the desire to move forward with the launch of the course, but we call on them to restore the course to its original form and reject the demands of politicians like Ron DeSantis who is using the authority vested in him as Governor of the state of Florida and the privilege afforded to him as a white man in America to dictate what constitutes Black History.