AP African American Studies is the newest addition to the 21 Advanced Placement (AP) course offerings at Middleton High School (MHS). Beginning in the 2024-2025 school year,this course joins four other existing AP courses in  the social studies department, as well as a variety of different AP classes ranging from Microeconomics to Environmental Sciences. 

AP African American Studies, which was only recently developed, focuses on African American experiences across continents and throughout history. Although students and staff are still navigating the novelties of the course, they all have much to say about how uniquely enriching the curriculum is. 

AP African American Studies was first introduced by the College Board in 2022. The announcement was followed by two pilot programs before the course, and was finally launched in the summer of 2024.. The course, which was developed in collaboration with high school teachers and college professors, covers the development of African American history and culture over time. 

The course is organized into four thematic units taught chronologically, starting with the origins of the African diaspora, followed by the institutions of enslavement, resistance for freedom, and ending with the consideration of modern movements. Through these topics, the course seeks to equip students with a deeper understanding of African American experiences, along with general academic skills such as argumentation and knowledge application. 

MHS social studies teacher Cy Weaver teaches the course, which was established in collaboration with fellow teacher Andrew Hartman and school administration in response to student requests. The class diverges from the traditional AP format by focusing on skills rather than memorization, with seminar-based analysis at the center of students’ learning. 

“It’s a very small group this year, the first crew that came in…. there’s only thirteen,” Weaver said. “But they’ve created a kind of community that is a space people are comfortable sharing in, both academically and personally.” 

Students echo the sentiment, reflecting on the discussion-based class as much more open-ended than other traditional social studies courses. 

“Every day the class is filled with knowledge that you come out with,” student Tamaria Jeffery (12) said. “Even outside of the notes, there’s so much running through your head, and you’re full of questions.” 

What’s fundamentally different about AP African American Studies compared to adjacent courses such as AP US History or AP Human Geography is that it shines the spotlight specifically on the African diaspora’s past and culture as a centerpiece of American history.

“It’s not treated as a footnote. It’s not only talked about in February. It’s the main thrust of the course,” Weaver said. 

The curriculum, as outlined in the AP Course and Exam Description, begins at the origins of the African diaspora, covering how African kingdoms and tribes interacted with colonial settlers both within and outside of the Atlantic slave trade. 

“It doesn’t sugar coat the stuff that we were learning about, like slavery,” Oubedatou Ezoula (12) said. “It doesn’t just cover slavery itself– it also covers African history from the beginning.” 

For Ezoula, the course has revealed historical details that, even as a Black person, she didn’t previously know. She talks about the interactions of slave traders with African kingdoms, who would also barter their own people into the slave trade in exchange for profits. 

“I’ve learned a lot more about African American history and African history in general that I think the school system should have been teaching from the get-go,” Kayah McCants, another student and senior in the class, concludes. “The richest man in the world was from Africa.” 

Weaver emphasizes the importance of illustrating the full picture, noting that the course material’s depth is something that most students—even most adults—have never been exposed to before.

“It always matters where you start to tell a story,” Weaver said. “The beginning in this place of achievement, I think it breeds a kind of respect that spills over into the rest of the course.” 

For McCants, it is enlightening to have a class treating Black and brown individuals in the same way that white people are treated in history– with respect. 

Jeffery feels similarly in that she’s learned much more about not only American history but the roots of African-American identity. 

“Only, I wish it was more organized and planned out,” Jeffery said. 

This concern is shared by Ezoula, who explains that having a textbook or videos on AP Classroom would allow students to better revise. Weaver acknowledges these concerns, but also notes that there simply is not much support for teachers either. 

“Because it’s such a new course, there’s just not a lot of material that’s been created and is easily accessible,” they said. “It does mean that you have to work pretty hard.” 

Fortunately, Weaver was able to attend the AP Summer Institute at Howard University, which equipped educators with the skills to teach the new course. The community of teachers that they encountered there, as well as their academic background from African American studies courses in college, have prepared them to take on the curriculum. 

McCants compared the course to AP Human Geography, a required class for sophomores. She observes that although the smaller class size allows for more personal discussion, there is not much background to help the class run smoothly. 

“For AP HUGE; we have multiple teachers who teach it in different ways…there’s more students taking it who can help one another,” McCants said.  “But with AP African American Studies, there’s less of us, and we’re all learning it for the first time.” 

However, McCants still encourages any interested students to take the course. 

“Know that you don’t have to be African American or African to take the class,” McCants said. “The whole point of the class is to educate everybody about it. And I think that taking the class is definitely important because oftentimes slavery is talked about in history classes but not in depth about it. We only talk about American history. We don’t talk about how other parts of the world affected the slave trade.” 

Jeffery and Ezoula also assure students who are concerned about not being African-American or of African descent and unable to contribute to the conversation, that the classroom is a comfortable environment to learn in and the course’s lessons are universal. 

“Don’t say you don’t want to take it because you can’t relate to it,” Ezoula said. 

“This is American history, period. Pure and simple. And it’s something that we should all know about. The more you know, the better citizen you are, the better human being you are.” Weaver said.

As for the future of the course, Ezoula voiced some concern about its continuation. 

“Take it before it’s stripped away from us, because it might be taken away by the new president,” Ezoula said. 

In recent years, conservative politicians have criticized or even banned the course, like in Florida. Similarly, Georgia banned the teaching of “divisive” concepts about racism from the classroom, or more specifically, the assertion that the country is “fundamentally racist.” Moreover, president-elect Donald Trump has previously proposed measures such as a “ban on taxpayer dollars going to any school district or workplace that teaches critical race theory.” 

Critical race theory, which analyzes the systemic nature of racism and its amplificatory nature on the effects of other events (such as the Covid-19 pandemic), has been a talking point for many conservative politicians who characterize the framework as inaccurate and harmful. On the other hand, the AP African American curriculum does not mention critical race theory, although it still uses similar terms such as “systemic oppression,” which are also banned from being taught in certain states. Whether it will be subject to further restrictions remains to be seen. 

Acknowledging the unpredictability of future election results and political action, both at the federal and state levels, Weaver hesitates to make a conclusive prediction but offers a positive outlook. 

“I’m hopefully optimistic,” they said. “I think we’re here to stay.”