The Department of Education has halted the placement of African-American studies in the state’s public schools, a decision that has upset many civil rights leaders and left one state representative accusing the government agency of attempting to “whitewash” history.
In a June 4 memo to school district leaders, the Education Department announced that schools could no longer offer African American studies as an AP class, although individual high schools could teach it as an elective.
The pilot course, a college-level class that gave students the opportunity to earn college credit while still in high school, was created by the College Board two years ago. It is a rigorous, interdisciplinary approach to examining the African American experience. From the African diaspora to the civil rights movement of the twentieth century, students use history, literature, and data as they learn to analyze and synthesize information.
It was added to some schools’ offerings two years ago for students who wanted to participate, before current state education superintendent Ellen Weaver took office. The official course will launch nationally in the upcoming 2024-2025 school year, and many expected it to launch in South Carolina as well.
The state’s social studies standards are due for a routine review, the Education Department said, and the agency is working to ensure offerings are in compliance with “soon to be updated standards and state laws.” And the department cited “significant controversy” surrounding the AP African American Studies course, which has been addressed by the General Assembly in a budget reservation and pending legislation.
“The state Education Department maintains its unwavering commitment to teaching the actual historical experience of African Americans to our students,” C. Matthew Ferguson, deputy state superintendent, wrote in last week’s memo. “We will continue to proactively seek ways to highlight the countless contributions Black South Carolinians have made to our state, our nation and the world.”
The department said in a memo that some African-American history is taught in public schools. The current curriculum taught in schools from fifth grade through high school covers the “actual historical experience of African Americans,” the memo said, including lessons on the slave trade, Reconstruction and the Jim Crow era.
A budget provision, first introduced several years ago, mandates that state funds cannot be used to teach certain concepts about an individual’s race and gender. The condition will also be part of the upcoming state budget.
H. 3728, the “South Carolina Transparency and Integrity in Education Act,” which would ban “certain subjects” from being taught in public schools, is in the conference committee.
The American Civil Liberties Union of South Carolina was joined Tuesday by the South Carolina Education Association, the state NAACP and others to criticize the department’s decision and call for classroom reinstatement in the state’s public schools.
The ACLU said that by citing the budget provision and “classroom law censorship,” the department is invoking manufactured controversies and a law that is not on the books.
“There is nothing to be gained by denying that history is taught at an advanced level,” says Bianca Woodard, a history teacher.
Black history and South Carolina history are inextricably intertwined, Woodard said, and it is “impossible” to separate the two. After teaching African American studies as a college prep class at Midland Valley High School in Graniteville for four years, she was excited to teach the AP course when it officially launched in the fall. Now that won’t happen.
“People are being robbed of their right to a free education,” said Rep. Jermaine Johnson, D-Richland. “We cannot tolerate this. We must teach the truth. If they remove this class, they are essentially whitewashing history. We cannot let that happen.”
High schools can still offer African-American studies as a locally approved honors course if they choose, the state education department said.
“Those who do not know their past will undoubtedly repeat it,” said Tiffany James, president of the National Action Network of Columbia. “The South Carolina Department of Education’s decision to deny credit for AP African American Studies indicates that they intend to repeat the past by making South Carolina great only for a select few. Learning SC history as a whole includes learning about black history. Taking away that choice is intentional and irresponsible. Our children deserve better.”
A spokesperson for the state Department of Education did not comment on the claims, but sent the state a document with background information on the decision.
“Some have used this decision to promote a false narrative that South Carolina is avoiding the teaching of African American history, thereby denying historical facts and dishonoring African Americans and their rich contributions to our state,” the document said . “This is just not true.”
