African American studies classes are important in schools like mine

I am a white student at Hereford High School — statistically the whitest public high school in Baltimore County — and when I signed up for an Advanced Placement African American Studies class, I was scared. First, because the class was new and I didn’t know what to expect, but second, because I knew that in that class, I would have to grapple with my contribution to the racially disproportionate 85% white population of my school.