African American Studies
African American Studies
AP African American Studies is an interdisciplinary course that examines the diversity of African American experiences through direct encounters with authentic and varied sources. The course focuses on four thematic units that move across the instructional year chronologically, providing students opportunities to examine key topics that extend from early African kingdoms to the ongoing challenges and achievements of the contemporary moment. Given the interdisciplinary character of African American studies, students in the course will develop skills across multiple fields, with an emphasis on developing historical, literary, visual, and data analysis skills. This course foregrounds a study of the diversity of Black communities in the United States within the broader context of Africa and the African diaspora.
Instructor: Ruthie Walls
Ruthie Walls wears many hats in her home state of Arkansas. She is a Social Studies teacher at Little Rock’s historic Central High School, a Teach Plus Arkansas Policy Fellow, and a University of Arkansas Downtown History Fellow. In her community, she is an advocate, volunteer, member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc., educator, and administrator. But Ruthie Walls is also a fighter, and has fought for AP African American Studies and her students. Ruthie serves as a consultant and a Table Leader for Advanced Placement African American Studies. She has received many awards that speak to her exceptional professionalism. Most recently, she was recognized by the College Board Forum who distinguished her as the 2023 Exceptional Service to Education Awardee. This fall, she received the prestigious Bessie B. Moore Award for Excellence in Teaching Economics, and is one of only seven educators in the state of Arkansas to receive this distinction. Impressively, Arkansas Senator Clark Tucker also led a successful effort to create a scholarship at the Arkansas Community Foundation in Ruthie’s honor to award to a Little Rock Central High School student who excels in the AP African American Studies course.