January 1st 2024.
Just a week after an all-white Missouri school board decided to ditch Black studies courses, a reversal was announced last Dec. 28. The Francis Howell School District declared that Black history and Black literature electives will be available for the 2024-25 school year.
The original decision to remove the classes was made in a 5-2 vote with Board President Adam Bertrand leading the charge, citing the content from the “Social Justice Standards: The Teaching Tolerance Anti-Bias Framework.” However, the outcry from angry parents and students, together with a petition signed by over 3,000, made an impact and convinced the board to reconsider.
A joint statement from Bertrand and Superintendent Kenneth Roumpos was released, expressing their commitment to finding a way to offer the courses without interruption. “We are confident in our academic team’s ability to bring forth a curriculum that is rigorous and largely politically neutral - one that will meet the Board’s approval on a timeline that prevents interruption of course offerings,” they said.
The NAACP of St. Charles County had plans to host a press conference on the same day of the reversal, but the issue was fixed before it got to that. Nonetheless, some parents still have reservations about the initial decision. Miranda Bell said she was furious and questioned the motives. “Along with taking down the antiracism resolutions, just like what are you saying? What are you saying? Were okay with racism? That’s the message that’s coming across,” she said.
It can be recalled that in July 2023, the same board revoked an anti-racism resolution adopted after the 2020 killing of George Floyd and had copies removed from school buildings. This decision raises more questions on the board’s commitment to a bias-free education system.
The return of the Black studies courses is definitely a step in the right direction, but the board still needs to address the underlying issues that caused the initial decision. It’s a complex matter that needs to be discussed and addressed in the next few years.
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