TURES COLUMN: Determining If The AP African American Studies Class Was Marxist Or Illegal
Published 9:15 am Saturday, August 10, 2024
There’s been a lot of criticism about the Advanced Placement course on African American Studies (APAAS) course. Some in office claimed it was illegal. And a columnist for the National Review claimed it was Marxist. I researched the APAAS course for answers. And I have some words of praise for several officials in the Georgia Republican Party, at the end of the column.
In an article for the Cobb County Courier (CCC), I did a content word search for Marxism. As a member of the Victims of Communism group who has lectured on the evils of the Stalinist purges and massacres of the Ukrainians and brought a guest lecturer to LaGrange College who gave a first-hand account of the horrors of the Chinese Cultural Revolution, I don’t want a Marxist lesson plan any more than you do.
The term Marxism, as well as Communism, the USSR, the Soviet Union, Stalin, Chairman Mao, and Franz Fanon were never mentioned. The word socialism never appears once. I know someone could claim that the theories are subtly hidden in the lesson plans. Well, as an educator, I know that at the high school or even collegiate level, you’ve got to make things clear to get your point across.
On the other hand, the lesson plan does tout the valuable role of African American churches (22 times!) in the civil rights movement, mentioning Jesus, and also included describing Harriet Tubman as a Moses figure. Somebody’s got to be pretty biased not to take this opportunity to tout religion in a public school’s curriculum.
Businesses and entrepreneurs are also mentioned throughout the African American Studies AP course (more than 20 times combined). Yes, racism is mentioned. It would be hard to say there wasn’t any ever in America. But consider this. The lesson plan mentions the atrocities in Tulsa in the early 1920s, when the Greenwood District was attacked after a false claim of assault.
Know what Tulsa’s Greenwood District was known as? This business district was called “The Black Wall Street.” And those who attacked it were people deputized and armed by The Government according to a bipartisan commission, cited by the Washington Post. If that isn’t calling out a socialist attack on capitalism, I don’t know what is. I have no clue why free-market groups don’t make this into a pro-business movie. Some folks can’t see past racism.
Yes, slavery was mentioned 97 times, but at least the lesson doesn’t try to make the cringy argument that slaves benefitted from it by learning blacksmithing skills (evidence shows how rare such cases were). And given that the right often claims that government regulations or COVID-19 restrictions were “just like slavery” doesn’t that indicate that slavery’s kind of bad?
After I initially wrote this column, I learned that Attorney General Chris Carr contended that the AP course on African American Studies (APAAS) was not illegal. Today, we learned that State Superintendent Richard Woods reversed his initial decision on whether the APAAS course was illegal, calling his initial decision “a mistake.”
I commend Superintendent Woods for reviewing his initial decision and offering a second opinion. I also owe praise to Attorney General Chris Carr, and Governor Brian Kemp, for going beyond partisan politics to ensure the APAAS course got a fair hearing. In today’s political environment, the number of politicians who admit an error, or stand up to some in their party, is not a very long list. The John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum, which provides an annual “Profiles in Courage” Award, needs to look at these Georgia Republicans for 2025.
