Members of the Little Rock Nine, the courageous group of Black students who integrated Little Rock Central High School in the 1950s, are expressing their discontent with Arkansas’ Education Department’s decision to prevent students from receiving graduation credit in an Advanced Placement African American studies course. NBC News reported this development on Friday.
Elizabeth Eckford and Terrence Roberts, two members of the Little Rock Nine, spoke out against the state’s recent move. The Education Department stated that the decision was made to investigate whether the course violates state law and promotes critical race theory (CRT) and indoctrination.
These restrictions were put in place after Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders signed the LEARNS Act earlier this year. The act prohibited curriculum that would indoctrinate students with ideologies like CRT. However, the Education Department mentioned that an African American history course will still be offered.
“I believe that the attempts to erase history are effective for the Republican Party,” Eckford told NBC News. In 1957, Eckford became a symbol of defiance when she was famously photographed being taunted by white students at her Little Rock high school.
“They have certain boogeymen that are very popular with their supporters,” she added.
Conservatives in other parts of the country have also voiced their opposition to the teaching of African American studies and related subjects in schools. In January, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis blocked an AP African American studies course. Months later, the College Board announced changes to the course to better represent the discipline.
Roberts, who recalled the physical and emotional suffering endured by the Little Rock Nine in Arkansas, argued that laws should not restrict students’ ability to learn.
“I know there are voices pushing back against these restrictions,” he stated. “The question is, will they be successful?”
Despite the decision not to count the course toward graduation, six schools in Arkansas have committed to continuing to offer the Advanced Placement African American studies course, as reported by The Associated Press.
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