FLORIDA PASTOR EMBRACES BLACK HISTORY CLASS

Christiana Lilly

AMethodist church in St. Petersburg has the attention of the world after opening its doors to teachers who want to teach AP African American History, a course that the state will not accept at high schools.

On Jan. 19, Allendale United Methodist Church posted on Facebook, “Our governor does harm. If any teachers out there would like to teach African American Studies from Allendale’s campus and offer it online, we will host for free and financially make it possible.”

Since then, the church’s offer has been covered by CNN, ABC Action News, the Tampa Bay Times, WFLA, Christian Post and others.

The Florida Department of Education announced in January that it would not offer the College Board’s new AP African American History course, claiming that the class had a political agenda and was “woke indoctrination.” During a press conference, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis also criticized the course’s inclusion of queer theory and asked, “Who would say that an important part of black history is queer theory?”

Allendale United Methodist Church is offering the course in-person for those who live locally and will also allow remote access to those who are unable to attend live. Its interest form can be found at https://bit.ly/3k1slca.

Recently, the church hosted a brainstorming session with FL Rep. Michele K. RaynerGoolsby and other leaders regarding the state of education in Florida. Pastor Andy Oliver also spoke during a Black Lives Matter press conference on the steps of St. Petersburg City Hall.