College Board purges controversial subjects from AP African American Studies ... trends now College Board purges controversial subjects including BLM, critical race theory and 'black queer studies' from AP African American Studies course after fierce criticism led by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis A final version of the curriculum published on Wednesday either watered down or entirely removed the contentious topics which appeared in a draft DeSantis had led the outrage after the draft surfaced and said the course would be banned from Florida schools over claims of woke 'indoctrination' of students Axed authors include Kimberlé W. Crenshaw, a critical race theory scholar, and Ta-Nehisi Coates, an advocate of reparations for African Americans By Lewis Pennock For Dailymail.Com Published: 16:01 GMT, 1 February 2023 | Updated: 16:22 GMT, 1 February 2023 Viewcomments The College Board has removed a series of controversial topics from its new AP African American Studies course after criticism led by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis. A final version of the curriculum published on Wednesday either watered down or removed entirely topics linked to the Black Lives Matter movement, 'black queer studies' and critical race theory. The subjects had appeared in a draft version of the course guide that surfaced last September and drew fierce criticism over claims student were being subject to woke 'indoctrination'. DeSantis, who has made removing 'ideological conformity' in education a headline of his leadership, said he would ban the course being taught in Florida's schools. Across four broad units, the course covers many, mostly uncontroversial topics ranging from origins of the African diaspora to slavery and civil rights. DeSantis said the course would be banned in Florida and described the controversial subjects as a 'political agenda', adding: 'That's the wrong side of the line for Florida standards.' The contentious material mostly arose in the course's fourth and final unit, titled 'movements and debates'. Subheadings within the section included 'Intersectionality and Activism' and 'Black Queer Studies'. DeSantis described the inclusion of the subjects as a 'political agenda' and added: 'That's the wrong side of the line for Florida standards. 'We believe in teaching kids facts and how to think, but we don't believe they should have an agenda imposed on them when you try to use Black history to shoehorn in queer theory, you are clearly trying to use that for political purposes.' David Coleman, the head of the College Board, told the New York Times the removal of the problematic subjects was not linked to politician pressure. He said the decision was made after consultation with students, professors and teachers, adding that some of the topics were 'quite dense'. Coleman said: 'At the College Board, we can't look to statements of political leaders.' He added that the revisions to the curriculum also stemmed from 'longstanding A.P. principles' and added: 'We experimented with a lot of things including assigning secondary sources, and we found a lot of issues arose as we did. 'I think what is most surprising and powerful for most people is looking directly at people's experience.' Coleman has described the course as an 'unflinching encounter with the facts and evidence of African American history and culture'. The course is currently being piloted in 60 schools across the country. The pilot will be expanded to hundreds more institutions throughout 2023-24, before it is fully rolled out in the following academic year. A 234-page handbook of the course still includes some mentions of the topics that drew the ire of Republicans and some Democrats. Towards the end of the guide, a section of 'sample project topics' - which are described as 'illustrative only' - has suggestions which include: Black Lives Matter: Origins, impacts, critics; Intersectionality and the dimensions of Black experiences; and Reparations debates in the U.S./ the Americas. The guide also now includes 'Black conservatism: development and ideology' as a suggested project idea - something that wasn't included in the draft. Authors who have been removed from the draft include Columbia law professor Kimberlé W. Crenshaw, a leading scholar in critical race theory, and Ta-Nehisi Coates, who has written about the case for reparations for African Americans. Share or comment on this article: All rights reserved for this news site (dailymail) and under his responsibility