Does AP African American Studies Teach That Slaves Learned 'Skills'?

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis' press secretary has hit back at criticism of the state's revised Black history curriculum that some have blasted as being "pro-slavery" by attempting to draw a parallel with the language used in a national African American studies course.

DeSantis, who is running for the Republican presidential nomination in 2024, has defended his state's newly-approved curriculum for Black history, which states that middle schoolers will be instructed about how slaves "developed skills which, in some instances, could be applied for their personal benefit."

Vice President Kamala Harris is among those who have slammed the changes, calling them a "propaganda" effort. Speaking in Jacksonville on Friday, she said extremists in Florida "want to replace history with lies" and "gaslight us."

Adults "know what slavery really involved," she said. "It involved rape. It involved torture. It involved taking a baby from their mother... how is it that anyone could suggest that in the midst of these atrocities that there was any benefit to being subjected to this level of dehumanization?"

Representative Eric Swalwell, a California Democrat, accused DeSantis of being "pro-slavery" over the educational policy. "Please keep this simple: If you require schools to teach the 'personal benefits' of slavery you are pro-slavery. Ron DeSantis is pro-slavery," the Democratic lawmaker tweeted last Saturday.

In attempt to counter the criticism, DeSantis' press secretary Jeremy Redfern shared a portion of the College Board's Advanced Placement (AP) African American studies course that talks about the skills gained by enslaved people.

The Florida Department of Education rejected the AP African American Studies course for high school students, part of a pilot scheme at 60 schools across the country, in January. Redfern, then DeSantis' deputy press secretary, said at the time that the course lacks "historical accuracy" and "educational value."

Redfern tweeted on Wednesday: "Remember when Florida wouldn't allow that AP African American Studies course because it focused too much on CRT [critical race theory] and not enough on history, and the @WhiteHouse lost its mind? Well, here is one of the standards considered "essential knowledge.'"

The tweet contained a screenshot from the course outline that said: "In addition to agricultural work, enslaved people learned specialized trades and worked as painters, carpenters, tailors, musicians, and healers in the North and South. Once free, American Americans (sic) used these skills to provide for themselves and others."

Also listed under "essential knowledge" in a course unit called "Slavery, Labor and American Law," is that many enslaved people "relied on skills developed in Africa."

The outline also states that enslaved people "were foundational to the American economy, even though they and the descendants were alienated from the wealth that they both embodied and produced."

It adds: "Over centuries, slavery deeply entrenched wealth disparities along the U.S.'s racial lines. Enslaved African Americans had no wages to pass down to descendants and no legal right to accumulate property, and individual exceptions to these laws depended on their enslavers' decision."

In a statement to Newsweek, the College Board said: "We are aware that some in Florida have reviewed the Advanced Placement (AP) African American Studies framework and have suggested that the state's recently approved middle school African American History standards align with our course requirements.

"We resolutely disagree with the notion that enslavement was in any way a beneficial, productive, or useful experience for African Americans. Unequivocally, slavery was an atrocity that cannot be justified by examples of African Americans' agency and resistance during their enslavement."

The statement said Unit 2 of the current framework "includes a discussion about the skills enslaved people brought with them that enslavers exploited as well as other skills developed in America that were valuable to their enslavers. Enslaved Africans and their descendants used those skills to survive, build community, and create culture in resistance to their oppression."

The statement added: "We are proud that AP African American Studies will offer a holistic introduction to the history, literature, and arts of Black people in the United States. From origins in the African continent to the trans-Atlantic slave trade to the movements for equal rights, this course will provide an unflinching encounter with the facts, evidence, and invaluable contributions of African Americans."

Back in January, DeSantis said the AP course violates the Stop WOKE Act he signed last year. Aimed at targeting teachings on critical race theory, or CRT—which he acknowledged was not being taught in K-12 schools—the law bars teaching that could make people feel "guilt, anguish, or other forms of psychological distress" over actions committed in the past by members of the same race, gender, or national origin.

The Florida Board of Education approved the revised Black history curriculum to satisfy the legislation DeSantis signed.

DeSantis said on Friday that he was not involved in devising the standards, but defended the parts concerning how enslaved people benefited.

"I think that they're probably going to show some of the folks that eventually parlayed, you know, being a blacksmith, into doing things later in life," he said. "But the reality is all of that is rooted in whatever is factual."

Redfern's tweet received mixed responses.

"The AP course supported by the NAACP, teachers' unions and White House includes nearly IDENTICAL language about the skills learned by slaves," tweeted Alex Lanfranconi, the communications director for the Florida Department of Education. "Something tells me this conspiracy theory about Florida's new African American History standards is about to go away."

Utah State Sen. John Johnson, a Republican, wrote: "I wonder if the people screaming about the Florida standards understand the origin—sometimes it is good to do a little research."

Others disagreed, saying Redfern was taking a small section of the course outline out of context and that enslaved Africans were already skilled.

"This is factually inaccurate. @JeremyRedfernFL is fully aware that the full text and context of the outline and the source material listed in the course syllabus refutes what he is attempting to gaslight [us] with," one person wrote on Twitter.

"The syllabus of the course and the sources listed noted that enslaved Africans that were human trafficking victims already had the skills."

Another person noted the neutral language in the AP course framework.

"The term 'benefits' still leans too heavily into the toxic 'needed tutelage' narrative. This language is more neutral," one person tweeted.

Newsweek has contacted Redfern and the White House for comment via email.

Update 7/30/23, 6:25 a.m. ET: This article has been updated to add a statement from the College Board.