Democratic governor Phil Murphy says his state ‘will stand on the side of teaching our full history’.
New Jersey has announced the expansion of Advanced Placement African American studies across its schools.
In a move counter to Florida Republican governor Ron DeSantis’s decision last month to ban African American studies from the state’s high schools, New Jersey’s Democratic governor, Phil Murphy, announced the expansion of the class subject yesterday while visiting a Newark high school.
The decision, which comes during Black History Month, will allow for African American studies to be taught in 26 New Jersey high schools during the 2023-2024 academic year. The class is currently in its initial stages of a two-year pilot program across the country, being taught in 60 schools nationwide, one of which is in New Jersey.
Units in the course framework include origins of the African diaspora, as well as freedom, enslavement and resistance, the practice of freedom, and movements and debates.
“The expansion of AP African American studies in New Jersey will grant our students the opportunity to learn about the innumerable ways in which Black Americans have shaped and strengthened our country,” said Murphy. “As governors like Florida’s Ron DeSantis prioritize political culture wars ahead of academic success, New Jersey will proudly teach our kids that Black history is American history. While the DeSantis administration stated that AP African American studies ‘significantly lacks educational value’, New Jersey will stand on the side of teaching our full history,” he added.
New Jersey’s decision has been met with praise from experts across the country.
Article URL : https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/feb/16/new-jersey-expands-ap-african-american-studies