Distance Learning

Florida Adopts Online African American History Course

• By Leila Meyer
• 12/14/15

The Florida Commissioner of Education's African-American History Task Force (AAHTF) plans to implement an online African-American history course at hundreds of schools across the state.

The Florida Department of Education developed the AAHTF to encourage schools and teacher training centers across the state to implement curriculum about African-American history and the contributions of African-Americans to society. "We are committed to continually improving the well-being of our state, and this starts with empowering young people to develop a stronger sense of self and respect for each other," said Anthony Hill, chair of the AAHTF, in a prepared statement.

The AAHTF partnered with EverFi, a provider of Web-based education, for this statewide implementation of EverFi's 306 - African-American history course. EverFi developed the course in collaboration with Clayborne Carson, director of the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Research Institute at Stanford University. According to information from the company, "the mission of the course is to inform and empower today's students through specific events, individuals, and concepts that have played a major role in African-American history."

Topics covered in the course include the Underground Railroad, the Harlem renaissance and the freedom rides; the United States Supreme Court case of Brown v. Board of Education, which declared state laws for separate public schools for African-American students to be unconstitutional; and stories of some notable individuals in African-American history, including Frederick Douglass, Madam C.J. Walker, Hiram Revels, Phillis Wheatley and Althea Gibson.

EverFi will handle school integration, teacher training and professional development activities associated with the course.