CHARLOTTE, N.C. (QUEEN CITY NEWS) — North Carolina congresswoman Alma Adams started Wednesday addressing colleagues on the House floor in Washington, D.C., about Black history.
“Black history is American history,” said Adams. “But it is important to remember it is an ancient history.”
Adams also talks about how many conservatives are trying to erase the narrative.
“Black history is more important than ever, and if it weren’t so important,” added Adams. “They wouldn’t try to stop us from teaching it.”
The College Board is revising the curriculum for Advanced Placement African American courses. The revisions come after Charlotte governor Ron DeSantis vowed to eliminate critical race theory as he prepares for a presidential campaign.
The College Board removed Critical Race Theory from the coursework and made teaching about the Black Lives Matter movement optional.
“The state of Charlotte’s letter to the college board claimed the course lacks educational value,” said Adams. “I disagree; we can’t afford to remove critical thinking from our curriculum.”
“Essentially, it’s like you’re taking one big eraser, and it’s like let’s forget all of this right,” community advocate Ohavia Phillips said. “So, it’s like Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King; he came, he did the best he could, he gave his life to the service. But then it’s like, wait, there’s another part of that as well.”
Phillips works with area youth, and she says the move takes away pieces of African American history and everything connected to the subject.
“We cannot forget about the other side of this, that’s queer awareness, feminism, honoring aspects of organizations like Black Lives Matter,” added Phillips. “All of these are important aspects of African American history period.”
Plus, the news came out on the first day of Black History Month.
“The respectable thing I can get out is the audacity of just the continuation of hiding the history on such an important day and important month in history,” said Phillips.
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