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The College Board on Saturday issued a new defense of its record in releasing the new Advanced Placement course in African American Studies. The statement followed criticism of the College Board’s changing the AP course after it was criticized by Florida governor Ron DeSantis, a Republican.
“We deeply regret not immediately denouncing the Florida Department of Education’s slander, magnified by the DeSantis administration’s subsequent comments, that African American Studies ‘lacks educational value.’ Our failure to raise our voice betrayed Black scholars everywhere and those who have long toiled to build this remarkable field,” said the statement.
The statement added, “While it has been claimed that the College Board was in frequent dialogue with Florida about the content of AP African American Studies, this is a false and politically motivated charge. Our exchanges with them are actually transactional emails about the filing of paperwork to request a pilot course code and our response to their request that the College Board explain why we believe the course is not in violation of Florida laws. We had no negotiations about the content of this course with Florida or any other state, nor did we receive any requests, suggestions, or feedback.”
The statement closed, “This new AP course can be historic—what makes history are the lived experiences of millions of African Americans, and the long work of scholars who have built this field. We hope our future efforts will unmistakably and unequivocally honor their work.”
