War on black history

January 27, 2023

Even as Black History Month is about to begin, the war on
teaching black history has opened a new front in Florida. That
state’s governor, the shamelessly ambitious Ron DeSantis, has
banned a proposed high school Advanced Placement course in
African-American studies.
As a Republican fixed on winning the White House, DeSantis has
been traveling the low road for awhile — attacking Disney World,
one of his state’s major economic generators, as “woke,” peddling
misinformation about anti-COVID procedures and outlawing the
teaching of “critical race theory.” He plans to out-Trump the
former president.
It’s difficult to label DeSantis’ latest move as his most shameless
since he has stooped so low on so many occasions. Still, it’s
worth noting that his administration hasn’t bothered to try to come
up with a sturdy rationale for its decision. The state Department of
Education issued a statement declaring that the course is
“inexplicably contrary to Florida law.” Huh? Does that mean that
bureaucrats cannot explain what they have done?
I’m not a fan of the annual celebration of Black History Month
because I believe it minimizes the history it proposes to elevate.
African-American history is inextricably bound up with American
history — there is not one without the other — so a separate
month should not be necessary. But DeSantis has shown why it
still is.
With his prominent support, Florida’s state legislature became
one of those taking up the cudgel against so-called critical race
theory, which has become rightwing code to signal any left-
leaning cultural or social premise that conservatives oppose. In
2021, rightwing activist Christopher Rufo tweeted: “The goal is to
have the public read something crazy in the newspaper and
immediately think ‘critical race theory.’ He has succeeded among
a certain set of voters, even if many of them don’t know what CRT
really is.
That didn’t stop DeSantis and like-minded Republicans, such as
Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin, from boarding the anti-CRT bus

and racing off. But in their zeal to fight the culture war, they have
done immense damage to classroom instruction. In states with
anti-CRT laws, teachers report a chilling effect: many are limiting
or excluding discussions of race and gender.
While conservatives like to champion “parental choice,” students
and their parents already have clear alternatives to AP classes.
The courses are prestigious but not required. Created by the
College Board, AP courses are university-level studies meant for
college-bound students. Some colleges give course credit to
students who score well on AP exams. But, again, no student is
required to take those classes either to graduate from high school
or to enter college.
According to Christopher Tinson, one of the scholars who helped
design the course, the African-American studies class draws
widely on black experiences to portray the range of that history,
both sorrowful and triumphant. Florida has its own distinct stories
to tell, from Eatonville, where Zora Neale Hurston grew up, to the
Rosewood Massacre.
Still, the DeSantis administration has said that the African-
American studies course “lacks educational value” but, instead,
“sought to teach progressive doctrines,” pointing to a leaked copy
of the syllabus with readings on such subjects as black queer
studies, the Black Lives Matter movement and the reparations
movement. While legitimate areas for study, those subjects are
also fuel for the culture wars.
As a college instructor, though, I can attest to the fact that “study”
is not “indoctrination.” I assign my students readings from a wide
ideological range, expecting them to be exposed to various points
of view and to think critically about them. That’s the only way they
learn which views can withstand probing discussion and pointed
debate. That’s what a college education is all about.
DeSantis’ decision has drawn sharp rebukes, including the threat
of a lawsuit. Politicians and educators in other states have said
they will not allow Florida to hijack the course, which is designed
to be used in schools across the country. Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker

wrote the College Board a letter urging its officials to ignore
DeSantis.
But the controversy is exactly what DeSantis wanted. He doesn’t
care what’s taught in classrooms. He simply wants to wage a
culture war he believes will propel him to the White House.