Washington D.C. – People For the American Way today delivered a petition to the leadership of the College Board, including CEO David Coleman and Senior Vice President Trevor Packer, calling on the organization to restore elements of its AP African American Studies course. People For is concerned about components of the curriculum that were removed or classified as optional in a way that diminishes coverage of contemporary Black history and has the effect of watering down course content. The petition was delivered with 16,878 signatures from across the country.
“This is really simple,” said Svante Myrick, president of People For the American Way. “We’ve heard the back-and-forth about whether political pressure affected the AP African American Studies course, but at the end of the day, there is one entity that is ultimately responsible for what is in that course. And that is the College Board. If College Board leaders want to revise the course, they can. And we say they should.”
The petition reads, in part, “I urge you to fully restore course content that educators deemed integral to the curriculum that was removed to satisfy the demands of political leaders. Anything less is a failure in providing our nation’s children with the education they deserve.”
High-profile pressure from Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has been linked to alterations in the AP African American Studies course, but the College Board denies that it bowed to specific pressure from DeSantis. People For maintains that responsibility for the course content now lies with the College Board, regardless of whether any politician or politicians influenced the course design in the last few months.
Read more here: https://www.pfaw.org/take-action-tell-college-board-to-put-black-history-back-in-its-ap-course/?
# # #
About People For the American Way
People For the American Way, a national progressive advocacy organization, inspires and mobilizes community and cultural leaders to advance Truth, Justice and the American Way. We convene courageous Americans, produce compelling media and organize campaigns to defend our democracy from authoritarian threats and advance America’s promise that everyone will enjoy freedom, safety and a vote that counts. Learn more: https://www.pfaw.org