The Virginia Department of Education proposed dozens of revisions to an elective course on African-American history, removing references to white supremacy and systemic racism, among other changes, according to documents.
A state education department spokesman said the review is still ongoing and no changes have been implemented yet, but some professors who helped write the previous curriculum are concerned that some of the topics and language covered in the courses would be watered down if the proposed revisions were implemented.
The department has not made public the proposed changes, which were submitted last August. The review was revealed in public records obtained by watchdog group American Oversight and provided to The Washington Post.
The proposed revisions are part of a review of whether the African-American history elective complies with Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s executive order banning “inherently divisive concepts” from classrooms.
“This elective will be a comprehensive exploration of African-American history, with a specific focus on African-American history in Virginia, and will thoroughly discuss all aspects of African-American history, both good and bad,” Department of Education spokesman Todd Reed said in a statement.
The order, which Youngkin issued after taking office in 2022, has been used to roll back a number of previous diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives and was also the basis for the short-lived “report line” that allowed parents and students to report teachers accused of teaching “divisive” concepts by the administration.
But the order has been used very little since then. Youngkin cited it when he called for a review of AP African-American studies courses in Florida last year, shortly after Gov. Ron DeSantis made headlines by vetoing the course. The state later said the AP course did not violate the order.
But a similar investigation was underway into elective courses on African-American history, according to records obtained by American Oversight, which filed a Freedom of Information Act request for records of all policies that were ended under the executive order, materials that were removed and changes made to state curricula. The only new change proposed in the documents beyond February 2022 was a revision of the African-American history course.
The proposed revisions are one example of how political decisions can affect course content. The review made more than 40 suggestions for curriculum outlines and course content, according to the document. Many of the proposed changes focused on language, such as changing the term “racism” to “discriminatory practices.” Other changes were more substantive, such as removing the definition of “Black joy” and removing lessons on implicit bias and equity.
“According to this document, white supremacy and systemic racism do not exist,” said Derrick Lanois, an associate professor of history at Norfolk State University who helped develop and implement the course when it was introduced in 2020. The Washington Post shared the revised version with Lanois and several other scholars.
Proposed changes to course content outline
• Interactions between blacks and whites in the early American colonies before slavery and white privilege
• Interactions between blacks and whites in the early American colonies before slavery and white privilege
• Race and Racism
• Implicit bias and stereotypes
• Hierarchy
• Prejudice and bias
• Establish rules and norms
• Race and Racism
• Implicit bias and stereotypes
• Hierarchy
• Prejudice and bias
• Establish rules and norms
• The impact of white supremacy as a form of social control for African Americans.
Replacement: How the Eugenics Movement Changed Virginia’s Social Structure
• Combating the persistence of systemic racism
Replacement: The persistent fight against racism
*This table is based on the revised African American History Elective Course Map proposed document.
Reed, the Department of Education spokesman, said the course was reviewed by expert staff from the Department of Education’s history team, pursuant to an executive order. They reviewed it for compliance with Youngkin’s order as well as new history standards approved in April 2023.
Other state guidance and documents were considered under Governor Youngkin’s Executive Order 1 in February 2022. Reed said he did not know why African American electives were not considered at that time, but said at some point in 2023, VDOE leadership realized the subject needed to be considered.
The African American History elective course was announced in 2020 under Governor Ralph Northam (D). It was developed by the VDOE in partnership with Virtual Virginia, WHRO Public Media, and a committee of public school educators, university historians, and college professors in history and social science. The course launched in a limited number of school districts in the 2020-21 school year and has since expanded.
Currently, 45 departments offer 89 high school courses, enrolling about 1,700 students, Reed said.
Reed told The Post earlier this month that the changes were scheduled to take effect in the 2024-2025 school year. But he later said he had further discussions with VDOE leaders and that the course review was still ongoing. He emphasized that none of the proposed changes have been adopted.
Reed called the African-American course a “unicorn” because it’s the only elective course developed by the state, so he said there’s no standard process, timeline or next steps for the review.
The elective changes come after the state was embroiled in a controversy over revising history standards and have sparked efforts and legislation across the country to limit what topics such as race, racism and sexual orientation are taught in school classes.
The Department of Education was criticized last year for “hiding” history when it rejected standards developed under the Northam administration in a seven-year history standards update and proposed alternatives that were criticized for placing less emphasis on marginalized groups. The document contained errors such as describing Native Americans as “immigrants” and omitted references to Martin Luther King Jr. Day and Juneteenth.
Examples of proposed changes to course learning objectives
• Examine early colonial laws in Virginia and use institutions such as slavery as mechanisms of enforcement to draw conclusions and infer about the rise of racism in America.
• Examine early colonial laws in Virginia and draw conclusions and inferences about the rise of racism and discriminatory practices in America that used institutions such as slavery as a means of enforcement.
• Analyze and explain how returning home to white supremacist practices and laws affected World War II veterans.
• Analyze and explain how white supremacist practices and laws affected World War II veterans.
• Research and understand how the University of Virginia was a frontline institution in the eugenics movement and how the state of Virginia used this pseudoscience to control African Americans.
• Research and understand how the University of Virginia was a frontline institution in the eugenics movement and how the state of Virginia used this pseudoscience to control African Americans.
• Raise questions about the contemporary impact redlining continues to have on African Americans.
• Raise questions about the contemporary impact redlining continues to have on African Americans.
*This table is based on the revised African American History Elective Course Map proposed document.
Chioma Chukwu, interim executive director of American Oversight, said the record on the proposed elective changes “shows the same pattern of attempts to whitewash and erase America’s legacy of racism that we have seen in other states, such as Florida.” “While those in power appear to be trying to protect students from ‘divisive concepts,’ it is clear that these measures are intended to protect partisan interests, not protect our children,” Chukwu said in a statement.
Other historians and experts who helped develop the elective curriculum contacted by The Washington Post were not aware of the proposed changes but expressed concern about some of the proposals to “cleanse” the course’s language.
Lanois said he was surprised that many of the references were changed to broader terms like “discriminatory practices.” He said the proposed amendments seem to downplay the role of the U.S. and Virginia in racial discrimination and instead focus on individual acts of racism.
One revision suggested changing the course learning objective from “Explore and understand how the University of Virginia was a forefront institution in the eugenics movement and how Virginia used this pseudoscience to control African Americans” to “Explore and explain the eugenics movement and Virginia’s use of it.”
In another example, the curriculum refers to a quote by Dr. King in which he called “white moderates” a “great stumbling block” in the fight for equality. The proposed revision suggests changing the phrase “white moderates” to “those moderates.”
Stephanie Richmond, an associate professor of history at Norfolk State University who also worked on developing and training teachers for the course, said Education Department officials appear to be trying to maintain the spirit of the course while following the executive order, but she said the broader challenges to curriculum happening across the country are of particular concern.
“I think this is a really disturbing trend that infringes on educators’ academic freedom to teach what they think is important,” Richmond said.
Asked about the criticism, Reid stressed that no changes had been made.
Reed said the course “gives a holistic picture of both the good and the bad of Virginia and national history. It doesn’t shy away from anything.”
