During a recent visit to a Newark New Jersey High School African American Studies Class, Governor Phil Murphy spoke regarding the expansion of Advanced Placement (AP) African American Studies classes in New Jersey.
According to the Governor, “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."
Governor Murphy's statement is unsettling. Chalkbeat reported that only 19% of 11th and 12th African Americans take AP courses in New Jersey. There are only 26,640 11th and 12th grade Black students which translates to approximately 5,062 students who could possibly take the course out of a total of 201,946 Black students. This equates to 2.5% of the total Black students in New Jersey Public Schools. This also means that 100% of Black students in grades pre-k to 10 will not have access to this curriculum resource.
Acting Commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Education, Dr. Angelica Allen-McMillan added that "African American history has been enshrined in our statewide social studies standards since the 1990s, and subsequently codified in law with the passage of the 2002 Amistad legislation that requires New Jersey schools to incorporate African American history into social studies curriculum."
This incorporation is diluted since the New Jersey curriculum continues to whitewash African American history. For example, in grades 3 through 5 students learn about the various levels of government functions, powers and responsibilities. However, they never learn about the power of the 10 worst presidents for which was outlined in a previous post. The ten worst presidents owned slaves and embraced the atrocities associated with slavery.
We must continue to push forward by sharing the petition on social media and with our friends to demand that the New Jersey Department of Education revise the Social Studies Academic Standards to eliminate the continued white washing of African American History.
The Fight for Rights Must Continue,
Dr. Derrick Campbell
#BlackLearnersMatterToo
#QuarantineRacism