AP African American Studies Courses Being Offered Across The U.S. For The First Time

Sixty high schools across the country are offering Advanced Placement courses on African American studies for the first time.

The courses come during the nationwide upheaval regarding race-based curriculum.

In February, the non-profit organization College Board announced a pilot program with courses starting this month. The curriculum will be an interdisciplinary overview of the history of civil rights, as well as African American music, literature, the arts and humanities, political science, geography, and science, CNN reported. Courses will also explore the vital contributions and experiences of African Americans.

The unprecedented pilot program will grow by the following academic year by adding other schools, and the course is expected to be available to all interested high schools in the 2024-25 school year, which allows time to secure valuable credit and placement policies at colleges and universities, the organization confirmed.

Over the summer, high school teachers involved in the African American Studies pilot joined Howard University to review the course framework and prepare for the launch of the course.

Renowned educator Dr. Henry Louis Gates, Jr. has hailed the new curriculum, saying the course work is “rigorously vetted” and that it should not be confused with the critical race theory concept, which has become both a social and political debate.

“Nothing is more dramatic than having the College Board launch an AP course in a field — that signifies ultimate acceptance and ultimate academic legitimacy,” Gates said in a statement. “AP African American Studies is not CRT. It’s not the 1619 Project. It is a mainstream, rigorously vetted, academic approach to a vibrant field of study.”