In September 1957, nine Black Arkansas teenagers entered the all-White Little Rock Central High School in an episode that became iconic in the civil rights movement.

It took then-President Dwight D. Eisenhower ® federalizing the National Guard and sending in U.S. Army troops to ensure that the teenagers could attend classes regularly at Central High.

The authors of the following post are Ivory A. Toldson and Ashley L. White of the NAACP Center for Education Innovation and Research, and the following members of the Little Rock Nine: Carlotta LaNier, Terrence Roberts, Melba Beals, Gloria Karlmark and Ernest Green.

We are outraged and saddened by the recent decision of the Arkansas Department of Education to remove the Advanced Placement African American Studies class from the state’s approved course list.

From Daisy Bates to Maya Angelou, from Al Green to Rodney E. Slater, Black Arkansans have made significant impacts in various fields and domains.

Removing the AP African American Studies class will only widen these gaps and deprive students of a rigorous and relevant curriculum that prepares them for college and career.

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