By Lauren Shin, Staff Writer
Starting in the 2024-2025 school year, River Hill High School will be offering African American Studies, a college-level introductory social studies course in African American history.
Examining popular culture, music, literature, film and more through primary source documents, students will be able to gain a better understanding of African Americans culture here in the United States.
Social Studies teacher Mrs. Nichols has been “pressing along with other teachers for years in order to get advanced placement in ethnic studies courses.” She explains how “this class teaches a perspective of history that most people aren’t taught in schools and it’s very important to understand how we got here- why our relationships are the way they are right now- to get a better understanding of the United States as a whole.”
The AP African American Studies course has been piloted these past couple of years in several schools throughout the country. Last year, the course was tested in two schools in Howard County, and its success contributed to the decision to have the course rolled out to schools county-wide.
Senior Julia Baek was able to take the African American Studies course through River Hill’s Howard Community College dual enrollment program this year. She states that the class focused on learning about the “personal experiences that many African Americans faced during slavery, reconstruction, post-reconstruction, and the present. We studied major themes like identity and racism through oral and written stories, poems, narratives.”
Compared to Social Studies classes she has taken in the past, she describes this class as being “special” because rather than just learning about history through textbooks, “you get to learn through the personal stories of people who lived through those times. Much of the literature we studied used vivid details and vernacular language in an authentic and impactful way to gain a new perspective of African American history and culture.”
Junior Eric Park expresses his interest and desire to know more about the course. He admits that he “never knew [African American Studies] was even an AP course and definitely had no idea our school was offering it” and that he wishes “it was promoted more even though I do recall Mrs. Nichols brought it up at the Social Studies course orientation.”
Seniors like Sarah Chin, although unable to register for courses next year as they will be away at college, describe this new addition as a “great opportunity for people to learn more about other cultures and go beyond what’s generally taught in history classes.” She also believes that the introduction of more social studies classes will benefit students. “Some other schools in Howard County like Centennial High School are teaching classes like Asian Studies and I think it’s good that curriculums have become more culturally diverse.”
One point that has risen to attention is that many people hold misconceptions about what African American Studies will be about, which has contributed to its somewhat controversial reputation.
Mrs. Nichols commented on how “in many other states, such as Florida, African American courses have been linked with the Critical Race Theory. That isn’t the case with this course though. There is a massive misunderstanding of what Critical Race Theory is, and some of our ethnic studies have been erroneously labeled as CRT when it’s not.” Critical Race Theory explores the idea that race may be a social construct, rather than a product of individual bias or prejudice, that is strategically embedded in legal systems and policies. “So there’s a perpetuating fear that learning about African American Studies will cause people to hate those of other races. But there’s absolutely nothing in a Social Studies course that teaches you to hate anybody,” she says.
Students will have the option to enroll in African American Studies for the upcoming 2024-25 school year during their course selection time frame. Interested students should keep in mind, however, that the course is not listed in the course catalog so they must consult with their counselors to sign up. African American Studies counts as a Social Studies elective and can be taken by students in any grade level.