Harford County schools' rejection of AP African American course hotly debated

BALTIMORE - In a tense, hours-long meeting Monday night, the Harford County School Board heard from dozens of community members concerned about their decision to reject adding an Advanced Placement African American studies class to the district's curriculum.

The board originally made this controversial decision in a 5 to 4 vote in June, causing a major amount of outrage in the community.

The meeting was packed. Many of the people who signed up to speak had to wait outside until it was their turn to do so.

The public comment section of this meeting lasted 2 1/2 hours and got heated at times.

"Black history is American history, is American history period," said Amber Mills, a teacher at Aberdeen High School.

About 60 speakers signed up and wanted to voice their concerns over the Board of Educations' decision to not adopt an advanced placement African American studies course in the curriculum that the district piloted last school year, and that about 90 students had already signed up for.

The board heard from teachers and students.

"The significance of this course is to urge students to dig deeper, and unfortunately, the more you dig in American history, the uglier it gets," Edgewood High School student Kareem Wallace said.

Community members were also vocal on both sides of the argument.

Several agreed with the five board members who voted against the course.

"The five members who voted no to that AP course gave specific and valid reasons for their concerns," said Suzie Scott, with Moms for Liberty. "The highly politicized nature of that course is not appropriate content for high school students."

The board decided to put the topic of the course back on the agenda at the meeting. It is possible that the board will take another vote on the issue after hearing all of this public comment.