critical race theory 
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2/6/2023
Historians Mobilize to Fight Back Against Right-Wing Attacks
by Margaret Power
Historians for Peace and Democracy condemns recent legislation restricting the content of history classes and libraries and censoring the freedom to teach and learn about racism and LGBTQ history. The group urges college faculty to join with their local K-12 educators and librarians.
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SOURCE: Richmond Times-Dispatch
1/31/2023
Beneath the Surface of Virginia's History Standards
by Edward L. Ayers
Virginia's Department of Education has ignored the guidance of historians and educators in revising the state's K-12 history standards. The example of how political appointees treated the role of African Americans in driving the movement for abolition is a telling example of the inadequate history they want to teach.
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SOURCE: African American Studies Faculty in Higher Ed
1/31/2023
600 African American Studies Faculty Sign Open Letter in Defense of AP African American Studies
"We categorically reject DeSantis’s autocratic claim to knowing what college-level material should be available in an AP African American Studies course. There is no precedent, of which we are aware, for him or the Florida Department of Education to claim expertise on any other subject matter for AP course adoption."
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SOURCE: Organization of American Historians
2/1/2023
Organization of American Historians Statement on AP African American Studies
"The OAH further rejects the characterization of these scholars and their scholarship as examples of “woke indoctrination,” and instead recognize them as central to the interdisciplinary research and teaching of African American history and culture, as well as American history more broadly."
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SOURCE: WAMU
2/1/2023
Historians on DeSantis and the Fight Over Black History
Experts including education historians Adam Laats and Natalia Mehlman Petrzela discuss the controversy over Florida's rejection of the Advanced Placement course in African American Studies.
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SOURCE: Boston Review
2/1/2023
A Reading List of Authors Removed from the AP African American Studies Course
The College Board has made revisions to its pilot African American Studies course that appear to follow the criticisms made by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis. Here's a collection of essays by many of the scholars representing diverse Black intellectual traditions whose ideas will not be part of the course going forward.
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SOURCE: TIME
1/26/2023
Why "Woke" is Such a Convenient Dog Whistle for the Right
by Samuel L. Perry and Eric L. McDaniel
The term hints at evoking demonized populations—Black and LGBTQ Floridians, for instance—while maintaining enough ambiguity to foster deniability about the consequences of legislation. It also has the auxiliary function of trolling white liberals.
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SOURCE: The New Yorker
1/29/2023
Ron DeSantis Battles the College Board—and History
by Jelani Cobb
"It’s scarcely surprising that a discipline built on an interest in exploring Black humanity would find itself in the crosshairs. That such a thing would happen in Florida is even less so."
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SOURCE: Chronicle of Higher Education
1/30/2023
What's Actually Happening in Florida Education?
by Francie Diep and Emma Pettit
Ron DeSantis has moved quickly on multiple fronts to alter the landscape of higher education in Florida. What are the facts behind the headlines? Will these actions be repeated in other states?
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SOURCE: New York Times
1/31/2023
What's Behind DeSantis Push to Erase Black History?
by Janai Nelson
"Mr. DeSantis’s “Stop WOKE” law relegates the study of the experiences of Black people to a prohibited category. The canceling of any students’ access to accurate, truthful education that reflects their diverse identities and that of their country should chill every American."
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SOURCE: Washington Post
1/27/2023
Florida's Vague Content Laws are Being Used to Intimidate Librarians
The DeSantis administration has declined to issue clarification of the requirements of the "Don't Say Gay" and "Stop Woke" laws, which leaves school librarians fearful of potential prosecution if they leave books on their shelves.
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SOURCE: Inside Higher Ed
1/24/2023
College Faculty: After K-12, Curriculum Laws are Coming For You
by James Grossman and Jeremy C. Young
State colleges involved with concurrent enrollment programs that allow high school students to take classes for credit are already susceptible to laws purporting to fight "indoctrination" in the secondary school curriculum. More intrusions on academic freedom are coming.
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SOURCE: Substack
1/23/2023
Banished Podcast: Sunshine State's Descent Into Darkness
by Amna Khalid and Jeffrey Aaron Snyder
Two historian podcasters evaluate the effort to politicize the history curriculum in Florida's K-12 schools and public colleges.
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SOURCE: American Association of University Professors
1/20/2023
AAUP: Florida's Censorship Cannot Stand
"That the only ideas the presidents wish to suppress relate to race is revealing."
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SOURCE: MSNBC
1/23/2023
Prof. Marvin Dunn: I was Teaching Before DeSantis was Born
Prof. Dunn discusses Florida's divisive concepts law and refusal to accept an AP course in African American Studies with MSNBC's Joy Ann Reid
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SOURCE: Tampa Bay Times
1/20/2023
National AAUP Condemns Florida University Presidents' Pledge to Root out Critical Race Theory
"The national organization, founded in 1915, stated it was 'appalled at the blatant violation of academic freedom' and said it was exploring options, including an investigation and possible censure."
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SOURCE: New York Times
1/21/2023
Florida Offers Justifications for Rejecting AP African American Studies Course
The state has contended that the curriculum prioritizes indoctrination over education, but their claims distort the meaning of some key terms.
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SOURCE: Washington Post
1/21/2023
Marvin Dunn: Florida Prof Defies New Laws to "Teach the Truth"
The Professor Emeritus at Florida International University says that he can't teach about the history of racist terrorism in the state without registering disgust for the actions of lynch mobs or offering clarity about the political purposes of the violence.
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SOURCE: Daily Beast
1/19/2023
Florida's Ban on AP African American Studies Class is Authoritarian
by Jeremy C. Young
The decision is "bad for free speech and for educational practice, and it's especially worrisome for Florida high school students. When politicians go to war with teachers, students always lose."
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SOURCE: Al Jazeera
1/15/2023
Critical Race Theory? Critical Race Facts
by Donald Earl Collins
Attacks on CRT and other scholarly investigations of inequality are premised on the idea that systemic inequality is fake. The evidence is in, and this is indefensible as a question of fact.
News
- Evelyn Brooks Higginbotham on the AP Af-Am Studies Controversy
- 600 African American Studies Faculty Sign Open Letter in Defense of AP African American Studies
- Organization of American Historians Statement on AP African American Studies
- Historians on DeSantis and the Fight Over Black History
- How the Right Got Waco Wrong