The College Board will pilot an AP African American Studies course in approximately 60 schools across the country beginning next school year. Following this announcement, District 219 English teachers Michele Hettinger, Jason Mormolstein, and Dillin Randolph, along with Chief Equity Officer Dr. La Wanna Wells, proposed the Stories of the African Diaspora course, which will be added to English course offerings for the 2023-2024 school year. This is the district’s first course dedicated solely to the literatures of the African Diaspora. 

“Literary works that enrich our students’ lives and open their minds to different cultures are always a good idea,” Hettinger said. 

Randolph spearheaded the creation of the class and identified the value of the course.

“As a Black male myself, I love to see educators doing whatever they can to advance our most marginalized populations…I already incorporate a ton of written works by authors of the African diaspora such as Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Kendrick Lamar, Amanda Gorman, Chinua Achebe, Jason Reynolds, Ida B. Wells, and many more,” Randolph said.  “To have a class dedicated entirely to these works is a dream come true, not only for me, but potentially for many of our students as well.” 

“It is a class that touches on stories of the African diaspora but as a result of that, it’s really a global storytelling class. I think these are stories that need to be told,” West English Director Dr. Michael Kucera said. As an English class open to all grade levels, the hope for the class is to be as inclusive as possible.

“I think it’s important that students see themselves represented in as many ways as humanly possible all over the school,” Kucera said. 

According to the board-approved course proposal, the course “will require students to critically examine the written works of the African Diaspora and its influence on modern society. The central mission of this course will be to support the development of critical consciousness, intellectual curiosity, and cultural celebration among our students by facilitating a rewarding study of the fiction and non-fiction works of people of Africa and of African descent.” 

Having this new course allows Black students to have a space to learn about literature that has impacted their lives today. The district already offers other equity-focused English classes– Asian American Literature, Asian-American Studies, Social Justice and Equity and Women and Gender Studies. “There is currently no central English course in D219 that is focused on the histories, literary achievements, and cultural criticisms of the African Diaspora. I think the students in our district have been clamoring for change in our curriculum and cultures so that we celebrate and honor them as human beings,” Randolph said.

The class will offer an honors option as well as a regular option and is open to all students.