Rev. Ronald Durham: DeSantis takes 'ludicrous position' on African American studies course

Rev. L. Ronald Durham
·2 min read
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Shortly before the start of Black History Month, Gov. Ron DeSantis and his administration decided to take the unprecedented move to send a letter addressed to the College Board inserting himself into the role of sole arbiter of ‘what should and should not’ be taught in the classroom, refusing to allow an Advanced Placement (AP) African American Studies course from being offered here in the state of Florida.

The Rev. Ronald Durham preaches during a service, at the Greater Friendship Baptist Church in Daytona Beach in 2007.
The Rev. Ronald Durham preaches during a service, at the Greater Friendship Baptist Church in Daytona Beach in 2007.

In his letter, Gov. DeSantis states that the AP African American Studies course is “inexplicably contrary to Florida law and significantly lacks educational value.” This is a ludicrous position for any educated person to take. Governor DeSantis’ ongoing assault on teaching African American history accurately in the classroom is an affront to our American history. Not only is the assertion that this course “significantly lacks educational value” false, but the racial bias and total disregard for the lived experience of African Americans and their contributions to the American narrative is absolutely appalling.

Here's the compelling irony to what the Governor has done here in the state of Florida. Currently, Florida offers AP courses without interdiction in European History, Japanese Language and Culture, as well as German Language and Culture, he has objected to this AP course on African American studies.

Attorney Ben Crump threatened to file a lawsuit against Gov. Ron DeSantis and his administration and the ban of a proposed Advanced Placement course on African American Studies in Florida High schools on behalf of three Leon County school students. A large crowd gathered in support of this opposition in the Florida Capitol for the “Stop the Black Attack” rally Jan. 25.

There is a major problem as I see it. Gov. DeSantis appears to be stoking the flames of racial animus and division rather than finding ways to better unite our understanding of a history that has never been taught accurately. I find it sad that Governor DeSantis has not taken the time to give serious consideration to an academically accurate curriculum that fills in the gaps left by our present educational system. Instead, he chooses to gain political favor with a narrow segment of society he will need for his upcoming bid for the White House.

The Volusia County Democratic Black Caucus is therefore asking that Gov. Ron DeSantis and his administration reverse this erroneous decision and allow students in Florida to have the option of going beyond the “vanilla” or bland teaching of American history and be allowed to dig deeper into the complex series of events that make up our true American story.

Rev. L. Ronald Durham is president of the Volusia County Democratic Black Caucus.

This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: DeSantis disregards African-American contributions to nation