US school board drops Black history courses amid anti-racism policy

A conservative-led Missouri school board has voted to drop elective courses on Black history and literature, five months after the same board rescinded an anti-discrimination policy adopted in the aftermath of the killing of George Floyd.

The Francis Howell School Board voted 5-2 Thursday night to stop offering Black History and Black Literature, courses that had been offered at the district's three high schools since 2021. A little over 100 students took the courses this semester in the predominantly white suburban area of St. Louis.

In July, the board revoked an anti-racism resolution and ordered copies removed from school buildings. The resolution was adopted in August 2020 amid the national turmoil after a police officer killed Floyd in Minneapolis.

The resolution and course offerings were targeted by five new members who have taken control of the board since being elected last year and in April, all with the backing of the conservative political action committee Francis Howell Families. All seven board members are white.

Misconceptions on critical race theory

The PAC's website expresses strong opposition to the courses, saying they involve principals of critical race theory, though many experts say the scholarly theory centred on the idea that racism is systemic in the nation’s institutions is not taught in K-12 schools.

The decision to drop the courses was met with protests outside the board meeting. Several parents and students chanted, “Let them learn!” Inside, speakers questioned the decision.

“You’ve certainly taught me to not underestimate how low you will go to show your disdain toward the Black and brown communities’ experiences and existence,” Harry Harris, a Black father, told the board.

Another speaker, Tom Ferri, urged the board to focus on bigger issues such as high turnover among teachers.“Tapping into a diverse talent pipeline would be a great way to slow attrition, but what diverse staff wants to work in a district waging culture wars?” he asked.

Board Vice President Randy Cook Jr., who was elected in 2022, said the Francis Howell courses to which he and others objected used “Social Justice Standards” developed by the Southern Poverty Law Center with a bent toward activism.


“I do not object to teaching black history and black literature, but I do object to teaching black history and black literature through a social justice framework," Cook said in an email on Friday. “I do not believe it is the public school’s responsibility to teach social justice and activism.”

District spokesperson Jennifer Jolls said in an email that new Black history and literature courses “could be redeveloped and brought to the Board for approval in the future.”

This semester, 60 students at the three schools combined enrolled in the Black History course, and 42 took Black Literature, the district said.