>> THIS WEEK AT BLACK HISTORY MONTH LAUNCHED SO DID A REVISED VERSION OF THE AP ADVANCED
PLACEMENT AFRICAN-AMERICAN
HISTORY COURSE, INITIALLY
REJECTED BY FLORIDA’S DEPARTMENT
OF EDUCATION.
THE BACKLASH WAS IMMEDIATE,
ALLEGATIONS AT THE COLLEGE BOARD
THAT WRITES THE CURRICULUM CAVED
TO A POLITICAL AGENDA.
WE TAKE STRAIGHT TO THE TOP,
DR. ROBERT PATERSON, HE COULD
CHAIRS THE COMMITTEE OF
EDUCATORS WHO DEVELOP THAT
COURSE, THE PILOT AND THE
REVISIONS TO THE FINAL.
DR. PATTISON, WELCOME ABOARD.
>> GOOD MORNING.
>> I’M SO GLAD YOU ARE WITH US
BECAUSE THERE IS ONE MAJOR
QUESTION THAT WE WOULD LOVE TO
HEAR COLLEGE BOARD ANSWER AND
THAT IS, DID THE COLLEGE BOARD
ADD, SUBTRACT OR REVISE THAT
CURRICULUM IN THAT AP
AFRICAN-AMERICAN HISTORY COURSE
BASED ON THE OBJECTIONS OR
REJECTIONS OF THE FLORIDA
DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION?
>> YAY OR NAY.
>> EXPLICITLY NAY, THE COLLEGE
BOARD, THE DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE
DID NOT QUOTE, CAVE TO THE
POLITICAL PRESSURE OF THE
GOVERNOR OF FLORIDA.
THAT IS.
>> OKAY, UNDERSTOOD.
I LIKE THAT VERY SPECIFIC ANSWER
BECAUSE AS A FOLLOWUP,
RESPECTFULLY, THE TIMING, THE
PERCEPTION, THE OPTICS MAKE IT
LOOK AS IF IT DID.
>> RIGHT, AND I’M GLAD THAT YOU
MAKE THAT POINT.
LET ME OFFER A LITTLE BIT OF
CLARITY ON ALL OF THOSE MATTERS.
SO WHEN THE STATE OF FLORIDA
ISSUED ITS DID HE CLAR ACHES I
THINK IT WAS JANUARY 12th OR
SPth.
THE STATE OF FLORIDA WAS
RESPONDING TO A DOCUMENT THAT
WAS NEVER INTENDED TO BE THE AP
AFRICAN-AMERICAN STUDIES COURSE.
THIS WAS AN EARLY COLLECTION OF
TOPICS, WRITINGS, ET CETERA,
THAT WERE BASED ON A COLLECTION
OF SYLLABI THAT COLLEGE
PROFESSOR-- COLLEGE BOARD
GATHERED FROM PROFIT
CERTIFICATES FOR WHAT THEY TEACH
IN AN INTROA DUBLGHTSARY COLLEGE
COURSE.
THAT DOCUMENTS WAS NEVER
INTENDED TO BE THE COURSE.
WHAT HAPPENED WAS SHOW THE STATE
OF FLORIDA GOT A COPY OF THAT
AND THEN IT RELEASED THIS
DOCUMENT OBJECTING TO THE
COURSE, MAYBE TWO WEEKS BEFORE
THIS CURRICULUM WAS SUPPOSED TO
BE RELEASED PUBLICLY.
AND THE CURRIC-- CURRICULUM THAT
WAS RELEASED PUBLICLY IS A
REVISION OF A PILOT COURSE THAT
IS NOW BEING TAUGHT IN 60
SCHOOLS ACROSS THE NATION.
AND SO SOME OF THE OBJECTIONS
ARE, NUMBER ONE, THEY WERE NOT
EVEN BEING IN THE PILOT COURSE
AS IT STANDS.
NUMBER TWO, SOME OF THOSE SAME
AUTHORS, SOME OF THOSE SAME
TOPICS ARE ACTUALLY STILL IN THE
COURSE THEY ARE EMBEDDED
THROUGHOUT THE COURSE AND THEY
ARE TOP UKES THAT STUDENTS CAN
TAKE FOR THEIR RESEARCH PROJECT
THAT THEY NOW DO AT THE
CONCLUSION OF THE COURSE, THAT
CONSTITUTES 20% OF THEIR EXAM
GRADE.
>> THAT IS INTERESTING WHAT YOU
JUST SAID.
BECAUSE MY NEXT QUESTION WAS
ACTUALLY GOING TO BE ABOUT THE
SPECIFIC CURRICULUM BECAUSE THE
FLORIDA HAS A NEW LAW THAT
FRAMES HOW RACE, RACIAL HISTORY
AND SEX EDUCATION CAN BE TAUGHT.
AND THOSE ARE EXACTLY THE KIND
OF TITLES THAT WERE TAKEN OUT OF
THAT, WHAT WE SAW THE DRAFT
PILOT.
THINGS LIKE BLACK QUEER,
FEMINISM, THE BLACK LIVES MATTER
MOVEMENT, REPARATIONS DEBATE,
ALL VERY IMPORTANT IN THE
CONTEXT OF BLACK HISTORY BUT
SUDDENLY NO LONGER IN THE
REVISED VERSION.
AND YET IF YOU LOOK AT THE
CURRICULUM, THOSE SUBJECTS ARE
KIND OF WOVEN THROUGHOUT.
SO NOW DOES THIS REVISED VERSION
STAND A CHANCE TO BE ACCEPTED IN
FLORIDA?
>> SO ONE OF THE TOPICS, I’M
GLAD THAT YOU MAKE THIS POINT.
I HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO LOOK AT
SOME OF THE LANGUAGE OF THE WOKE
ACT, FOR EXAMPLE.
AND IT WOULD BE IMPOSSIBLE TO
TEACH AFRICAN-AMERICAN STUDIES
QUITE FRANKLY IMPOSSIBLE TO
TEACH AMERICAN HISTORY WITHOUT
TALKING EXCLISSITY-- EXPLICITLY
ABOUT RACE AND HOW RACISM HAS
ADVANTAGED SOME GROUPS AND
DISADVANTAGED OTHER GROUPS,
RIGHT.
SO THE LAW ITSELF WOULD ACTUALLY
JUST MAKE TEACHING THESE TOPICS
AND RELATED TOPICS DIFFICULT, IF
NOT IMPOSSIBLE.
I HAVE NO IDEA WHETHER OR NOT
THE STATE OF FLORIDA IS GOING TO
ACCEPT THE CURRICULUM THAT WAS
RELEASED ON FEBRUARY FIRST
BECAUSE AS YOU HAVE SAID, IF YOU
TAKE A DEEP DIVE INTO THE
CURRICULUM, THESE TOPICS WOVEN
THROUGHOUT.
THE STUDENTS STILL HAVE ACCESS
TO WRITE ABOUT SOME OF THE OTHER
TOPICS IN THE CONTEMPORARY
PERIOD THAT ARE NOW PART OF THE
RESEARCH PROJECT, THE
OPPORTUNITY, AND MORE
IMPORTANTLY, IN THE AP
CLASSROOM, WHICH IS WHERE THE
RESOURCES, THE SECONDARY
READINGS ARE COLLECTED, SOME OF
THE VERY AUTHORS THAT THE STATE
OF FLORIDA HAS TAKEN EXCEPTION
TO WILL STILL BE A PART OF THE
AP CLASSROOM.
STUDENTS AND TEACHERS WILL STILL
HAVE ACCESS TO IT AND IT WILL
STILL BE A PART OF THE
CURRICULUM.
SO I AM NOT SURE IF THAT IS THE
CASE.
I THINK WHAT IS IMPORTANT TO
UNDERSTAND AND IMPORTANT FOR
PEOPLE WATCHING, LISTENING TO
RECOGNIZE IS THAT THE GOVERNOR
OF FLORIDA STATED WHAT HE MEANT.
WHICH IS THAT THE
AFRICAN-AMERICAN STUDIES COURSE
LACKS EDUCATIONAL VALUE.
IT IS MY SINCERE ESTIMATION
BASED ON THE LACK OF SPECIFICITY
AND SOMETIMES ERRONEOUS CLAIMS
ABOUT THOSE TOPICS THAT YOU
NAMED IN THE DOCUMENT THAT THE
STATE OF FLORIDA SENT, THAT
THOSE WERE JUST SORT OF
JUSTIFICATIONS FOR A FORE GONE
CONCLUSION AND THAT THE GOVERNOR
HAS MADE IT VERY CLEAR THROUGH
SOME OF THE COMMENTS THAT HE
MADE THIS PAST WEEK, ABOUT
GETTING RID OF DWRKS EI-- DE,
PROGRAMS ACROSS THE STATE
UNIVERSITY.
THAT THIS ASSAULT ON
AFRICAN-AMERICAN STUDIES IS A
PART OF A BROADER FRAMEWORK TO
NOT HAVE CONVERSATIONS ABOUT
RACE AND OTHER INTERSECTING
CATEGORIES OF IDENTITY.
AND HOW THEY MATTER HISTORICALLY
AND CONTEMPORARY MOMENT AS WELL.
>> AND I THINK JUST IN THE SHORT
TIME WE HAVE TOGETHER, I THINK
THE GOVERNOR HAD ALSO QUESTIONED
THE BALANCE AND NOW THERE IS A
BLACK CONSERVATISM CURRICULUM IN
THIS COURSE.
WAS THAT, IS THAT COINCIDENTAL?
>> SO A COUPLE OF THINGS.
LET ME BE VERY CLEAR ABOUT THIS.
>> DO IT IN 30 SECONDS.
>> THE REVISIONS WERE DONE IN
DECEMBER.
RIGHT?
DECEMBER. RIGHT? AND SO THERE IS NOT A RESPONSE
TO WHAT THE GOVERNOR PUT FORTH.
THE RESPONSE IS TO THE EXPERTS
AND THE TEACHERS WHO CAME
TOGETHER TO MAKE THIS COURSE A
REALITY.
AND THAT IS WHO THE RESPONSES
HAVE BEEN TO, AND THE FEEDBACK
THAT WE’VE GIVEN AND THEY’VE
GIVEN.
>> DR. ROBERT PATTISON FROM
COLLEGE BOARD T IS GREAT TO HEAR