Florida Democrat Defends Controversial HS Class: Teach ‘Black Queerness,’ ‘Black Lives Matter’

A Florida Democratic lawmaker in favor of teaching a controversial AP African American Studies in high schools blasted the state on Monday, arguing that students shouldn’t be shielded from BLM or “black queerness.”

Recently, the Florida Department of Education published informed the board that the course’s content lacked educational value, taking special issue with sections on “Queer Black Studies,” The reparations movement, “movements for black lives,” There are many others. State Senator Shevrin Jones, a Democrat however, suggested to NPR These topics should not be avoided, but rather embraced.

“Some of the things that they were speaking about in it were talking about the black struggle, it was talking about the Black Lives Matter movement, it spoke about black queerness. … These are not issues that we should be shying away from, or shielding away from students,” Jones.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who signed legislation last year preventing the state’s government schools from teaching discrimination on the basis of race, color, or sex, detailed a number of his concerns Monday. They include the way that the curriculum incorporates esoteric academic theories in what is referred to in legacy media as an history course.

“Now who would say that an important part of black history is queer theory? That is somebody pushing an agenda on our kids, and so when you look to see they have stuff about intersectionality, abolishing prisons, that’s a political agenda. And so, that’s the wrong side of the line for Florida standards,” He stated.

The Department of Education indicated that it would reconsider its decision of blocking the course if there were changes to the curriculum.

Although proponents of teaching African American Studies argue that these courses promote holistic thinking about American history and culture, critics point out that the curriculum focuses primarily on narratives of grievance and left-wing advocacy. The College Board’s website suggests that a major in the subject can prepare a student for only one Career field, activism, and community organizing. However, the organization states that a history major could prepare students for a career in this area. multitude Many career options are available, including law, anthropology and foreign service.

The College Board currently offers the course in a pilot program at several dozen schools. This is to allow high school students to get college credit prior to attending university.

The College Board has not yet made public the African American studies curriculum. They claim that the information contains proprietary information. It is likely that the course will undergo modifications before being implemented nationwide.