Michael Harriot Profile picture
Jun 17 22 tweets 8 min read Read on X
Theyhe SC Dept. of Education canceled AP African American Studies, @thegrio spoke with teachers, school administrators & superintendents to find out why SC essentially canceled the ONLY accredited HS course in Black History.

THey all had the same answer.

A thread.
FIRST we must acknowledge that SC is central to ANY study of Black Americans.

Scholars estimate that 40% of America's race-based human trafficking cargo disembarked in the "slave capital of the new world." Image
SC's Negro Act of 1740 was the template for all state's slave codes, including literacy bans. And, because it was classified as PROPERTY LAW, the individual states would later decide that slave codes didn't violate constitutional rights.

calendar.eji.org/racial-injusti…
After the Civil War, the Unamerican secessionist states had to submit a Constitution (remember, they weren't part of America anymore). SC was ~60% Black, so its majority Black constitutional delegation created free compulsory, state-funded education FOR ALL. Image
Some states' legislatures (like Mass) GUARANTEED public education. But they sometimes "drove out" Black citizens from their towns. No state had constitutionally mandated EQUAL education.

Black people in SC CREATED the American education system as we know it. Image
Here's where it gets interesting.

In his opening remarks at that constitutional convention, SC's white governor admitted that he knew what Black people wanted more than anything else.

Education. Image
Remember, Southern racists believed that GOD made Black people inferior. So the Black Founding Fathers's constitution BANNED SC's schools from teaching these so-called "Christian" pro-white "sectarian principles."

THEY PUT IT IN THE CONSTITUTION.

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After emancipation, Black attendance rates in the South were higher than white attendance.

We talk about the KKK targeting Black voters, Black-owned businesses & churches during Reconstruction. But Black schools were the MOST COMMON target of those racial terrorists Image
There is not a moment in history where Black people didn't value education. But, as you can see, SC has always led the effort to stop Back people from educating themselves.

And they always failed.

Remember, Brown v. Board of Education BEGAN in SC.

thegrio.com/2024/05/17/eve…
SC tried to pass an anti-CRT laws WAY before Florida did. But they couldn't.

Conservative Republicans eventually copy and pasted pro-white activist Christopher Rufo's six principles that define CRT into its 2023-2024 budget, promising to DEFUND schools that taught CRT

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But because AP Black Studies doesn't actually do any of these things, SC let ONE school participate in the College Board's AP Black History program that was offered to 60 schools nationwide.

Here's that class: Image
Shortly after this pilot program was approved, a group of white conservative parents took over the school board and ousted the superintendent

Before you say "That's why it is important to vote," the Moms 4 Liberty candidate only needed 24% of the vote

thegrio.com/2023/05/18/sou…
After a year, the program expanded to 700 schools.

In SC, students need 3 social studies credits class to graduate from high school - 1 history, one economics class, 1 govt class and one other SS class.

The social studies class must have a state-approved "code."
On June 4, the Dept of education removed the code for AP African American Studies. Schools can still offer the class, but it will essentially be an elective. Removing the code also means the individual schools or students must pay for the AP test & the materials Image
We checked the state course code and discovered that AP African American Studies was the ONLY Black history course that had a course code. Some schools have Black history classes as an ELECTIVE. Students can also take a "dual enrollment" COLLEGE course on Black history, OR...
They could take AP History
Or European History
Or Western Civilization,
Or AP Italian language and culture
REGULAR European history
Even Golf Course Technology

Not only did they cancel the AP course, South Carolina doesn't offer a single accredited course in Black History. Image
This affects students in MANY ways.

Take Mark Frazier for instance, a principal at a rural, 90% Black HS without a single AP course. He can't afford it bc school funding is based on attendance.

The white kids in his district attend a 95% white segregation academy
The funny thing is, the private white school isn't better. It doesn't have AP classes either. Frazier estimated AP classes would increase enrollment by ~75 students, which would increase funding & help ALL the kids

And he knows what he's talking about.

postandcourier.com/kingstree/news…
He didn't have the funds to introduce a FULL slate of AP classes, so which course would a 90% Black school invest in 1st?

Another superintendent pointed out that colleges consider schools with more AP-level classes to have a "more competitive academic environment."
Majority-Black schools are underfunded by about $1200 per student compared to white schools. About 60% of Black kids attend majority Black schools. This is why Black kids are less likely to have access to advanced-level courses.
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We spoke to teachers, superintendents, principals and guidance counselors of all races in SC.

They dismissed the idea that the course was canceled because of "controversy."

It didn't break any laws.

It was not too similar to other courses.

It was not "untested." Image
They each concluded there was only one logical reason why the ONLY BLACK HISTORY COURSE in the state with the MOST Black history was not equal to the other class created by the SAME BODY.

Read it for yourself.

thegrio.com/2024/06/17/sou…

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More from @michaelharriot

Jun 5
There are a few problems with Byron Donald’s idiotic statement, notion of Black “conservatives,” and even how WE THINK of Jim Crow

A thread
Byron Donald’s statement isn’t that uncommon. Every Black person has heard a version of this, whether it is “integration was the worst thing that happened to us,” or what Donalds said.

Those people are dumb
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First of all, I will always contend that “integration” never happened. To be fair, my opinion is based on a book many people may disagree with:

It’s called a dictionary.

When did any of this happen? Image
Read 21 tweets
Jun 2
The conversation about Caitlin Clark reminds me of one of my favorite stories about of basketball’s forgotten GOATs and a strange NBA stat

A thread.
Regardless of how you feel about WNBA player’s treatment of Caitlin Clark, it is INARGUABLE that she is expected to be a generational talent.

Whenever someone is expected to dominate their sport, teams & player often use a common strategy:

“What if we beat them up?”
For instance, Shaquille O’Neal was so dominant, the NBA had to change its rules to address the “Hack-a-Shaq”

nytimes.com/2016/05/01/spo…
Read 24 tweets
Jun 1
Hypocrites

A thread.
Hypocrite @BasedMikeLee Image
Read 10 tweets
May 15
After the French Revolution, people who supported the old monarchy, feudalism and a heirarchal sat on the right side of presiding officer of French Parliament and the liberal, non-aristocrats and members of the third estate usually sat on the left.
During the 1900s Karl Marx’s ideas began to spread across Europe. In France, the people who supported monarchies (the right wing) were the most vocal opponents of communism, so they referred to Marxists as the “far left.”

But one guy changed that
Read 15 tweets
May 7
This is not true. It has never been true. It is based partly on a misunderstanding FBI data and partly based on a widely perpetuated lie.

A thread.
First of all, let’s get this out of the way, NO ONE deserves hate. It is wrong

Yet, year in and year out, there are more anti-Black hate crimes than any other category.
And according to the latest FBI data there, are nearly 3 times more anti-black crimes than anti-Jewish crimes. Image
But of course, there are SIX TIMES more Black American than Jewish Americans, so people just divide the number of hate crimes by the percentage of the population and Jewish Americans are more likely to experience hate crimes…

Well, everyone except the FBI.
Read 18 tweets
Apr 26
A few years ago, while working for one of the greatest sports franchises of all time, I learned a very important life lesson.

A thread
Every summer, my hometown's recreation department hosted a "stop the violence" summer league to keep kids "off the street."

It eventually became so competitive that teams would recruit out-of-town ringers, leaving local basketball players shut out of their hometown's tournament
My homeboys asked me to sponsor a team and I agreed. Unlike the other teams, no one on my team played college ball. They were essentially regular dudes from the hood who just loved basketball.

And yes, they were very "hood"
Read 24 tweets

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