Just 48 hours before the first day of school, the Arkansas Department of Education announced that Advanced Placement African American Studies wouldn’t count towards graduation. They said they’re reviewing the course for possible indoctrination.
Republican Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders went on Fox News to explain her administration’s decision to de-prioritize AP African American studies.
“We cannot perpetuate a lie to our students, and push this propaganda leftist agenda, teaching our kids to hate America, and hate one another," she said.
Sanders has not pointed to anything specific in the AP African American Studies curriculum. The Arkansas Department of Education notified teachers that they’d deleted the course code for AP African American Studies. That means students can’t get graduation credit for taking it.
Never, ever take their arguments as if they’re made in good faith. It’s never about history, or religious freedom, or ensuring fair elections, or “reverse racism,” or states’ rights. It’s never about parental rights, or keeping children safe, or freedom of speech.
It is always just about being able to do what they want, much of which is making sure other people can’t do what they want. It’s about enshrining racism, misogyny, homophobia, transphobia, and xenophobia in law.
There are no honest arguments coming from the conservatives at this point. The age of disagreeing over tax policy is over. Bill Buckley and George Will and their actual conservatives are gone. It’s Trumpism now.
It’s always about hate, not history.