Kimberlé Crenshaw calls changes to AP African American studies class ‘a shame’

Kimberlé Crenshaw, a leading critical race theory scholar, said it was “a shame” that the College Board removed the topic of intersectionality from its new Advanced Placement African American studies course. 

Speaking to the Rev. Al Sharpton on MSNBC’s “PoliticsNation” on Monday, Crenshaw explained that intersectionality is not meant to be a divisive topic.

“Intersectionality is a uniting framework. People seek common cause with each other,” Crenshaw said. “So the reality is that Black people are not just straight, they’re not just men, they’re not just middle class.”

“When we expand our understanding of Black reality to include the way the patriarchy, homophobia, class shapes our reality so we can better transform it, it means that we have connections with other movements and other people,” Crenshaw told Sharpton. “And that is exactly why they’re trying to force us to give up intersectionality and that’s why it’s a shame that the College Board went along with it.”

Crenshaw, a leading civil rights writer and scholar, coined the term intersectionality in 1989 to describe “the double bind of simultaneous racial and gender prejudice.” A professor at Columbia Law School, Crenshaw has identified issues through her work that cause what she frames as the perpetuation of inequality, like the “school-to-prison pipeline” for Black children.

When her work was included in the College Board’s pilot program for African American Studies, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’s (R) administration quickly identified her work as problematic and refused to teach the course in schools.

Florida has banned schools from teaching “critical race theory,” a legal framework that aims to understand racism in the United States. Most experts on the subject have said it is not taught in elementary or high schools, but opposition to the concept has become a rallying cry for Republicans.

Last year, DeSantis signed legislation called the Stop WOKE Act, which restricted how racism can be taught in schools. The law, which stands for Stop Wrongs to Our Kids and Employees, prohibits any instruction that could make someone feel “personal responsibility” for historic wrongdoings because of their race, sex or national origin.

In a tweet, Manny Diaz Jr., Florida’s commissioner of education, pointed to the topic of “Intersectionality and Activism,” which would include work by Crenshaw, as one of several causes for concern.

“Intersectionality is foundational to CRT, and ranks people based on their race, wealth, gender and sexual orientation,” Diaz said.

DeSantis later said the College Board was attempting to indoctrinate students through the course, which his administration said “lacks educational value.” 

Not long after, the College Board amended the course, removing lessons on Black queer studies, the Black Lives Matter movement, Black feminist literary thought, the reparations movement and the Black struggle in the 21st century. Crenshaw’s work also appeared to be removed from the course outline.

“Intersectionality is only controversial if you stand against multiracial democracy,” Crenshaw tweeted on Tuesday. “To say that it needs to be removed from curricula because it’s become politicized is to ignore the people who have done the politicizing and why.”

“The politicians who want to deprive students of tools for understanding and knowledge are the ones who fear most the freedom of ideas and a democratic future. For the College Board to cave to politics—which they now admit—is a disservice to education and undermines democracy,” she added.

But in a recent statement, the College Board accused DeSantis’s administration of slander and said the topics, including Crenshaw’s work, still remain in the official framework as optional research topics for students.