The College Board, a private company that offers Advanced Placement (AP) courses around the world, officially released the AP African American Studies class to high school students. While NC already offers a whopping 28 AP classes, AP African American Studies joins the course registry as an elective option, starting in 2025. AP Comparative Government and Politics teacher Carol Galloway teaches the course during NC’s fourth block.

The class, during a pilot program in the 2022-2023 school year, appeared in 60 schools across the U.S.. In 2023-2024, the pilot program expanded to 700 schools across 40 states. During this expanded pilot program, among other schools, the course became available at Wheeler High School. In January 2023, Florida implemented a ban on the course, claiming the course promotes critical race theory — a theory banned under the Individual Freedoms Act, commonly known as the Stop WOKE Act. Additionally, states such as South Carolina and Arkansas opted to follow Florida’s lead, while New Jersey and Illinois threatened to refuse the course if it became too censored. Georgia initially banned the course as well, but state superintendent Richard Woods decided to allow students to enroll in the class, but schools would not receive state funding. However, in August 2024, Woods changed his mind, and the classes began to receive appropriate funding.

While other AP history courses touch on parts of African American history, mainly topics of slavery, a gap in studying African American culture remains. The gap leaves students longing for representation and recognition beyond the somber parts of history. Furthermore, teachers struggle to study African American history in depth due to deadlines and other class requirements.

“One of the reasons I was excited to teach [AP African American Studies] is because this is an area of study a lot of students do not have a background in. [Teachers] go so quickly through a really important area of history. Usually, I teach World History, and I tried my very best to teach the history of transatlantic slavery with as much sensitivity and respect as possible, but the demands of the course meant I could only teach it for one day,” Galloway said.

NC offers classes such as Ethnic Studies and culture-centered spotlights such as Warriors of the World, yet specific representation for African American students did not exist until this course joined NC. AP African American Studies bridges a gap in the average high school. The class opts to honor African American culture instead of solely focusing on the better-known, depressing parts of history. For NC, a school with an international studies magnet program, adopting a course celebrating African American culture leaves a massive imprint on the student body. 

AP African American Studies aims to examine African Americans through different lenses, such as civil rights, literature and the arts. Students learn about topics from the transatlantic slave trade to modern events such as the Black Lives Matter (BLM) protests. Implementing a class focusing on a minority at NC — with 38.6% Black students and a total of 72% minority races — holds significance. 

“I decided to take [AP African American Studies] because I wanted to learn more about my culture. The course is very detailed on African Americans, compared to other AP history courses. For example, I learned about Queen Nzinga, who was the queen of Ndongo [ — modern day Angola]. She was a warrior for her country, but she also kind of capitalized on the slave trade. She was really interesting to learn about. I am so proud of my culture, and this class is a representation that I wanted so badly growing up; I am so happy it’s being taught,” magnet junior Kyla Young said.

The course acts as more than a beacon of representation to Black students — it also challenges students. AP African American Studies still possesses AP-level rigor, while simultaneously helping spread African American culture and representation. Apart from the standard Multiple Choice Question (MCQ) section and a Free Response Question (FRQ) section, the AP exam also contains an Individual Student Project, completed during the school year, that comprises 8.5% of the student’s exam score. The project calls for self-direction from students and discourages teachers from censoring students. The project allows for three weeks of work time and ends with a presentation to the students’ teachers and peers. 

“[I wanted to take the course because] I am a big social studies person. I took both AP European History and AP World History, but this course went so much deeper, and I am learning things I’ve never heard of before. I also took Ethnic Studies, but it gave me a vague understanding of African American culture, did not go into depth, and the course itself was not challenging for me. AP African American Studies is also more rigorous than Ethnic Studies, so I am getting the rigor level that I was looking for. I am White, but I have a deep appreciation for African Americans, and I love learning about other cultures in general,” magnet junior Matthew Mayette said.

Ultimately, while the course initially faced high levels of backlash, AP African American Studies has provided NC students with new perspectives on African American culture. With a high population of Black students at NC, students feel elated from the representation AP African American Studies produces.