Clarke Central High School is offering AP African American Studies for the first time in the 2024-25 school year while Cedar Shoals High School has been teaching the class since the 2023-24 school year. The Trump administration’s efforts to end DEI and reductions in the Department of Education, though, could have effects on the course.
The Georgia General Assembly passed the “Divisive Concepts”’ Bill, or House Bill 1084, in 2022. The bill bans the teaching of nine concepts involving race and racism, such as teaching that the U.S. is fundamentally racist, one race is superior to another, an individual of one race is inherently racist toward other races, etc. The bill states that these concepts of race and racism are “divisive.”
Montu Miller, Advanced Placement African American Studies teacher at Cedar Shoals High School, stands in his classroom on November 20, 2024. Miller began teaching the course at Cedar Shoals as part of a pilot program in the 2023-24 school year. (Photo/Emma Greene)
Montu Miller, the AP African American Studies teacher at Cedar Shoals, recounted how Georgia State Superintendent of Schools Richard Woods first made the decision to defund the class as an AP class for the 2024-25 school year because it would violate HB 1084. However, Gov. Kemp did not agree with the decision, and a few weeks later Woods backtracked on his previous choice after several students’ schedules and teachers’ planning for the year had already been changed.
Montu Miller mentioned that Clarke Central High School introduced the course this semester, which will be taught by Valinda Miller.
Wyatt Meyer, a senior at Clarke Central and a student in Valinda Miller’s AP African American Studies course, believes that his teachers are doing a good job at teaching students the truth without violating the bill. Meyer also said deeming race as a divisive concept is “stupid” and “ridiculous.”
“I think that branding [of race] as divisive is kind of watering down the reality,” Meyer said. “Watering down the reality of where we are as a country and what our history has been.”
Montu Miller is grateful to be teaching in a “blue bubble,” referring to Athens-Clarke County; however, he acknowledges that teachers from other counties in Georgia will likely not have the ability to teach the same classes after this bill passed.
“There’s so many teachers in the state that honestly, there’s literal fear in their voice from what they want to teach,” Miller said.
Miller also recognized how lucky he feels to be supported by Cedar Shoals students, parents, Clarke County School District Superintendent Robbie Hooker, Cedar Shoals Principal Makeba Clark and other faculty and staff.
Only one semester after Woods changed his decision about defunding AP African American Studies, President Donald Trump took office for his second term. The Trump administration is signing executive orders at an unprecedented pace, and on Thursday, March 20, he signed an executive order to dismantle the Department of Education.
Many people are questioning what this order means for schools’ curriculum, specifically DEI-based classes, such as AP African American Studies. The Department of Education announced that schools either need to eliminate diversity programs or lose their federal funding. The funding lost would include state funding for courses and other need-based initiatives, like student loans, free or reduced lunches, disability programs, etc. It is unclear, though, what the Department of Education defines as “diversity programs.”
If this includes AP African American Studies, CCSD may continue to offer the course as a part of its curriculum even without state or federal funding. Miller said that Hooker assured him last summer when the course was going to be defunded that it would still be taught at Cedar Shoals and the school district would fund it on their own.
CCSD, being a “fiercely independent school district” and “blue bubble” according to Meyer and Miller respectively, is passionate about teaching this course in order to have students learn the nation’s uncensored history.
Meyer stresses the importance of studying the truth about race-based topics in school and believes the Georgia “Divisive Concepts” Bill is attempting to refuse to recognize facts about the country.
Miller had the same ideology and explained that he merely teaches the facts, which speak for themselves.
“It’s not like I go in, and I’m indoctrinating these kids,” Miller said. “I’m like, okay, here are the facts, now let’s talk about it.”
“If you don’t learn from history, you are doomed to repeat it,” Meyer said. “If you’re not teaching kids about history, then, you’re probably going to have the same conversation in about 50 years or sooner.”