A college-level African American Studies high school class viewed by some to be controversial is being hailed as a success in the Southfield school district.

According to the state Department of Education, Birmingham Groves, Ferndale, West Bloomfield, the Center for Advanced Studies and Arts (CASA) and Southfield University Academy are part of a pilot program for the course created by the College Board last year.

The Board oversees Advanced Placement (AP) courses, so-called because high school students can earn college credits by completing the course requirements and passing a rigorous national exam.

The course

Advanced Placement African American Studies became a lightning rod among conservatives who think it teaches so-called “critical race theory” and should not be brought into the classroom.

The course faced criticism from elected officials like Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who in January 2023 said he would ban the curriculum citing a draft version that he said was not historically accurate and violated state law that regulates how race-related issues are taught in public schools.

More than two dozen states also adopted legislation against the teaching of critical race theory, according to the University of California, Los Angeles, law school which tracks such measures.

The College Board pushed back on the claims but modified the coursework to eliminate mentions of many black writers and the Black Lives Matter movement. The revised class materials made those subjects and others optional.

“The course provides students with a strong foundation of facts and evidence about African American history and culture,” the Board said in a statement. “We hope that AP African American Studies will serve as an invitation to many students who have not traditionally considered Advanced Placement.”

Southfield’s experience

The Southfield University Academy High School is one of 17 schools in the state and 700 across the country to offer the class this school year.

“We knew that this pilot program … would be something that we will definitely want to engage in,” said Academy Principal Orlando Bogins. “So after researching and looking into the entire program with the course syllabus, the requirements for the students, requirements for the teachers and how it will be received here at our school as well as within the district, we were approved to move forward.”.

The course was designed to cover historical and modern topics and issues, including early African kingdoms, Jim Crow and the Civil Rights movement, the trans-Atlantic slave trade, the Reconstruction era and the Great Migration. The course covers the topics in a variety of ways such as through music, art and architecture.

Outside of a training fee for instructors teaching the class, the program is free for participating school districts.

The College Board provides teachers with maps, photos and documents as primary resources, but teachers and classes can use their own materials and resources.

The Birmingham school district, which also has an African American studies class, is looking to add the course in the 2024-25 school year.

“We will have to go through a rigorous course curriculum review process and we put any course through that process,” said April Imperio, Birmingham’s assistant superintendent for learning and inclusion. “We expressed interest in the course and will go through the evaluation process to potentially be put in place for the 2024-25 school year.”

Students who took the pilot course and exam will receive a score. Colleges and universities will determine whether the results earn credits when the course is launched in the 2024-25 school year.

Southfield Academy’s Bogins said he has not heard of any Michigan college or university that will not grant credits for the class.

Students and teachers

Dan Deegan and Lorri Lewis teach 50 Academy students who signed up for the course at the start of the year.

Juniors Cristen Banks and Karl Dupree said the class has been an excellent addition to the curriculum at the Academy.

“It was worthwhile. There had been a lot of background behind it and it was kind of controversial, but it just came across and seemed like a normal class,” said Dupree. “I don’t know why it was controversial, because it’s part of U.S. history. I just feel like a lot of people want to avoid it.”

“I was very excited when I heard our school was offering it, and now in May, I’m so happy I took the class,” said Banks. “I’ve learned so much knowledge of African American history and we just have fun in this class and we have a good time.”

Dupree said the class goes deeper than a regular history class.

“We learned what slavery was like in the content, but we didn’t learn things like the traveling and what happened before they actually got on the plantation,” said Dupree. “And that’s not something you would get in regular classrooms.”

Deegan, a social studies teacher, has also taught AP World History and AP U.S. History and found different resources to shape and teach the class.

“It’s a pilot program … so there were not a lot of resources available for us,” said Deegan “It made us reach out and there was an online community of teachers across the United States to share and bounce ideas off of each other.”

Bogins admitted that the district was on its own when it came to teaching the basics of the class.

“There were a lot of things we had to go ahead and create ourselves and there was the resource where all the teachers that were doing this had their own little community since it was a pilot program,” he said. “So obviously it can be shaped and interpreted …and then you have to figure out the techniques of getting it across too.”

Deegan knew he and others were trailblazers for the subject when he started the year.

“It has been rewarding and exciting and I feel comfortable expanding this program and getting it where our AP World and AP U.S. History classes are as a permanent part of our curriculum,” he said.

Banks said she has enjoyed the path that Deegan has taken through unknown territory.

“I think he handled it well, especially since we definitely have some very clear cultural differences, but he was very cool, he was very understanding and it kind of felt like he was learning with us at times as he was teaching us,” said Banks. “We were allowed to show our personalities and show our opinions and I think that was the best part of the class.”

Bogins said the positive opinions from the students have been reinforced outside the classroom.

“Overall it has been a very, very beneficial program and I’m proud as the principal to add this to our school, to the district and not have any type of negativity from our parents or from our students,” said Bogins. “It excites me for what lies ahead.”

Parents reaction

Lanissa Freeman is the deputy superintendent at the Southfield Academy and her daughter, Hope, is enrolled in the class.

She said the feedback from parents has been overwhelmingly positive.

“The reaction has been very positive so far. Absolutely. I think it’s been phenomenal. I can’t say enough about it,” said Freeman. “Everyone I have talked to said they support the program becoming part of our curriculum.”

Freeman also has been getting reviews on the class directly from her daughter.

“When she first started taking the class, she was openly sharing things like, ‘Wow, mom, this class is really opening my eyes. I know we’ve always been learning about African American history, but this takes it to a whole other level’,” said Freeman. “She said it’s not just about learning about African American history and how it impacted us here in the United States, they provided a more global perspective.”

Freeman said the students not only learn through field trips and classroom presentations and are pushed outside their comfort zone when it comes to talking about African American history, but also provide a different overall perspective.

“I think it gave them a critical lens to look at some things historically and then apply them and understanding the patterns that are embedded in our society and being able to identify them and advocate and do something about it,” she said. “Not in a way that is going to disrupt the learning environment, but just the research and find a different perspective so that you will be able to have a conversation with someone.”

The class has had such an impact on Hope that it led her to choose her future path in life.

“My daughter was really undecided about what she was going to major in, but Mrs. Lewis gave them an assignment where they had to come up with a lesson based on the topic that they were discussing to teach the class,” Freeman explained. “It’s one thing to be able to learn something, but when you can teach it to others you are going to a higher level and it just motivated my daughter to the point that now she wants to major in education.”