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A Republican-led school board in Missouri has reversed a decision to drop Black History courses in their predominantly white district, but only if certain criteria are met.
According to AP, the Francis Howell School District will allow students to continue to take elective Black History courses, only if the board can approve a new curriculum “that is rigorous and largely politically neutral,” said board president Adam Bertrand and superintendent Kenneth Roumpos in a statement.
“After thorough discussions, we believe there is an appropriate path forward to offer Black History and Black Literature with an updated curriculum standard in the 2024-2025 school year,” they said.
Just last week the school district voted 5-2 to end the Black History and Black Literature courses, which had been offered to students since the 2021 school year. It’s been reported that over 100 students participated in the Black History courses this semester.
In July, the board also rejected an anti-racism resolution that was created in August 2020 in response to the national unrest surrounding the police killing of George Floyd.
According to AP, the resolution pledged that the suburban St. Louis school district would “speak firmly against any racism, discrimination, and senseless violence against people regardless of race, ethnicity, nationality, immigration status, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, or ability.”
All seven board members are white.
The decision to get rid of the Black History programs sparked a major backlash, leading to protests outside the board meeting, as well as activists speaking out about their skepticism over the board’s plan to create a new curriculum.
Heather Fleming, the founder of the Missouri Equity Education Partnership, pushed back on the board’s ideas of a politically neutral curriculum.
“Black History and Black Literature cannot be taught from a ‘politically-neutral’ perspective because our entire experience in America has been impacted by socio-political movements,” Fleming wrote on her Facebook page.
Critical race theory has become a polarizing topic among school boards across America and school board elections have turned into political battlegrounds.
Under the guise of white guilt, many local school districts have successfully been able to remove books, programs and courses surrounding Black History.
On one hand conservatives scream about the government controlling how we think, then on the other, they ban books about the perspectives of Black people in this country.
You can cut the hypocrisy with a knife, it’s so thick.
SEE ALSO:
Arkansas Moves To Confiscate All African American Studies Materials Over Critical Race Theory Fears
The Way That States Are Banning Critical Race Theory Matters
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