DeSantis vs. College Board shows why Black history is needed

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The nonprofit College Board has enjoyed a rather peaceful existence over its tenure in the educational landscape. Not until it entered an exchange with a state and its governor did the board realize it was entering a mind-altering vortex focused on political gain and on noise instead of discourse.

The current controversy involves the curriculum for Advanced Placement (AP) courses in public high schools. Many readers may not know that only a tiny percentage of students in high schools enroll in AP courses each year, and even smaller percentages of students of color enroll in these courses.

As leaders who wrestle with questions about what should be taught in high schools, we have kept the Florida/College Board issue at the forefront of our minds.

In practice, AP courses have a framework that includes a range of content and activities from which teachers may choose. Teachers then create entrance requirements for their AP classes, often putting the classes out of reach of students of color.

As superintendent of Minneapolis Public Schools, I removed entry requirements to AP and other advanced coursework. I worked with Keith Mays in the African American Studies Department at the University of Minnesota to create an ethnic studies class — for all incoming ninth-graders — focused on African American history. This guarantees that all students, not a select few, gain access to this critical content in U.S. history.

The board is not deleting curriculum about African American history; it is simply putting it in the student-choice category rather than the teacher-core category. The governor is preying on the racism of people in his state rather than addressing a real educational issue. The board now gives students choices in selecting topics such as the Black Lives Matter movement and Black incarceration, according to their interests. The content is there, and teachers still have a choice — except those in Florida.

Having explained that typically only a select few students get access to the rigorous content of an AP class, we are not proposing that this important content should not be taught. Instead our resolve to provide even greater access has strengthened.

As African American girls, we grew up watching history unfold. We stood a little taller and became braver when we read about how African American history touched our own families, particularly through their involvement in civil rights advocacy. We both looked on with awe and excitement when we witnessed the young activist who first spoke the words Black Lives Matter; we feel encouraged that more than half the U.S. population supports the movement. Knowing this and African American history has sustained us in hard times. Our grandchildren will look back at the past, engage in their present, and imagine the future with pride and ideals yet to be explored.

We understand that the longstanding racial inequities in our country cannot be addressed and remedied until we courageously look our history in the eye. As American historian and writer Carter G. Woodson (who initiated Negro History Week) put it, "Those who have no record of what their forebears have accomplished lose the inspiration which comes from the teaching of biography and history."

The AP courses controversy is yet one more red flag showing that some do not want to remember the events and confront the behaviors that continue to prevent us from flourishing as a country. But we must remember — and learn. With a smile, we think of our young grandchildren who will inherit this country, and we want them to feel safe to learn and engage in this nation whose motto is liberty and justice for all.