Here's what students will learn in AP African American Studies

By: Mary Ann Koruth
Northernmost
USA Today Network - New Jersey

..... In response to Governor Ron DeSantis' recent ban of an Advanced Placement African American Studies course in Florida schools, Governor Phil Murphy on Tuesday [02/14/2023] announced that New Jersey would be expanding its program form one school to 26.
..... "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," Murphy said in a Newark classroom on Tuesday. [02/14/2023]
.... "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," Murphy said in a statement.
..... What exactly will be taught in the college-level classes?

AP African American Studies

..... According to the College Board, which conducts all testing for the SAT, PSAT and AP exams in high schools, the two-year course will have four thematic units that should be taught in sequence over 28 weeks of a school year. Schools offering this course in a single semester will need 17 weeks of double periods. It will require students to sue works of literature, the visual arts and music, data, and original sources for historical records. Teachers will develop daily lesson plans.
..... According to the College Board, the four units are Origins of the African Diaspora: Freedom, enslavement, and Resistance. The Practice of Freedom and Movement and Debates, followed by a three-week final project.

Under Origins of African Diaspora, students will cover:

* Introduction to African American Studies.
* The Strength and Complexity of Early African Societies.
* Early Wast African Empires.
* Early African Kingdoms and City-States.
* Early African and Global Politics

Under freedom, enslavement, and Resistance, students will cover:

* Atlantic African and the Transatlantic Salve Trade.
* From Capture to Sale: The Middle Passage.
* Slavery, Labor and American Law.
* Culture and Community.
* Radical Resistance and Revolt.
* Resistance Strategies.
* Abolition and the War for Freedom

Under The Practice of Freedom, students will cover:

* Reconstruction and Black Politics.
* The Color Line: Black Life in the Nadir.
* Racial Uplift.
* The New Negro Renaissance.
* Migrations and Black Internationalism.

Under Movements and Debates, students will cover:

* Anti-colonial Movements and the Early Black Freedom Movement.
* the Long Civil Rights Movement.
* Black Power and Black Pride.
* Black Women's Voices in Society and Leadership.
* Diversity Within Black communities.
* Identity, culture and Connection.

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