By Megan Sayles
AFRO Business Writer
msayles@afro.com
After piloting AP African American Studies during the 2023-2024 school year, the Harford County Board of Education (BOE) has denied a request to make the elective course permanent. Board members voted 5-4 to end the class during a meeting on June 24.
The decision comes after the College Board course faced political attacks, largely initiated by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who blocked the course in 2023. It also follows action from a number of states to ban critical race theory.
The Harford County NAACP Branch has since expressed its disapproval of the decision and asked the BOE to reconsider.
“We watched the Harford County Board of Education strip away student’s right to learn about African American history because the majority of the board, who are not people of color, decided that real history isn’t positive or uplifting enough,” President Vicki Jones told the AFRO. “Slavery was real. It was ugly and brutal for Black Americans to be sold and tortured. Segregation was real. We still see the effects of it in the division of our county’s districts.”
Much of the board’s opposition centered members’ beliefs that the course pushes a political agenda that vilifies law enforcement and neglects to reflect the progress in equality.
“The topics are heavily political-oriented, perpetuate the message of oppressed versus oppressor and expand beyond the course title and history years to include interlocking systems of oppression in social categories of class and other areas. I didn’t find positive messages that weren’t overwhelmed by the negative messages,” said Board member Terri Kocher during the meeting. “I think we’re missing an opportunity to present positive messages of unity and great American contributions.”
Kocher said the course failed to illustrate the headway that’s been made. Instead, she said it paints activism as a way to propagate a victim mentality and a derogatory attitude toward the police.
Board member Lauren Paige Strauss dissented for similar reasons. She expressed concerns about the divisiveness that the course’s content could cause. Both Strauss and Kocher said the curriculum would need to be changed for them to approve the course. But, as the course development is overseen by the College Board, this is not possible.
“I think it does capture hardships and struggles, but I don’t think it accurately or adequately captures the progress that this country has made,” said Strauss. “My decision tonight is surrounded on my belief that there’s a portion of the content that pits Americans against America.”
Three Harford County public schools piloted AP African American Studies during the 2023-2024 school year, Aberdeen High School, Belair High School and Joppatowne High School. Erin Lange, supervisor of social science for the school district, led the request for the course’s approval during the board meeting.
She described the class as an evidence-based introduction to African American studies that examines the vital contributions of Black people. She also noted that 355 colleges and universities have agreed to offer college credit, advanced placement or both to students who do well on the exam.
“We received overwhelmingly positive feedback from both our students and our staff, and next year eight schools have signed up to run this course if it’s approved by the board,” said Lange.
Board members Carol Bruce and Carol Mueller advocated for the approval of the course during the meeting. Mueller highlighted research showing that students who take AP courses perform better in college.
“We’re taking away an opportunity to put them in a course that will help them to do better in college work in the future,” said Mueller.
Bruce implied it was senseless to reject the class based on the curriculum, as teachers ultimately dictate how it’s instructed to their students. She said it was parents’ responsibility to determine whether the content is appropriate.
“Maybe there’s some tweaking that needs to be done, but for us to keep on saying we don’t want it because it’s political, I think that’s unfair,” said Bruce. “I think it’s short-sighted, and it’s pitting African Americans against non-African Americans because we want to speak up to say we want history taught.”
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