Democratic Govs. Newsom, Pritzker push back against DeSantis after Florida blocks AP African American studies course
Democratic Govs. Gavin Newsom and J.B. Pritzker push back on Ron DeSantis after Florida blocks AP African American studies course.
WASHINGTON — Two prominent Democratic governors are pushing back against Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis after his administration blocked teaching an Advanced Placement course in African American studies.
Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker is urging the College Board not to appease DeSantis, a likely 2024 Republican presidential candidate, and to alter the course curriculum. And California Gov. Gavin Newsom expressed outrage that Republicans are concerned about the class after a series of mass shootings. Both Democratic governors are also seen as potential future presidential candidates.
"I am writing to you today to urge the College Board to preserve the fundamental right to an education that does not follow the political grandstanding of Governor DeSantis and the whims of Republicans in Florida," Pritzker wrote in a letter to the College Board, first reported by the Chicago Sun-Times and obtained by NBC News.
"I am extremely troubled by recent news reports that claim Governor DeSantis is pressuring the College Board to change the AP African American Studies course in order to fit Florida’s racist and homophobic laws," Pritzker said, calling on the College Board to "refuse to bow to political pressure that would ask you to rewrite our nation’s true, if sometimes unpleasant, history."
DeSantis’ administration rejected the AP African American studies program in a letter this month to the College Board, which oversees AP classes.
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