1619 Project Under Attack

President Trump has called on the Department of Education to investigate the usage of the 1619 Project. The 1619 project launched by the New York Times Magazine last year. The Pulitzer Prize-winning series of articles sought to reframe the history by placing the date 1619 as the true date of America rather than 1776 as 1619 is the date the first slave ship arrived in the American colony of Virginia. Its implication is that slavery was the true start to America we know rather than the settlements of pilgrims and the subsequent independence from Britain. It also implies that America has founded on the ideals of slavery, not liberty as mentioned. “Times’ Director of the project, Nikole Hannah-Jones states that “Black Americans have fought to make the ideals of democracy true.”

The projects contain a lot of challenging ideas that students could benefit from. It is no secret that the teaching of certain historical topics like Native Americans and American chattel slavery is quickly glossed over while prominent white history like the American Revolution and the roaring twenties are taught in-depth in K-12 classrooms. Whether people agree with the approach or not it should be agreed that there isn't a fair balance between the history that is taught nor is there an accurate representation of these historical events distributed throughout the United States. Some states present their history with a sugar-coated approach which isn't helpful to students in the long run when they enter institutions of higher learning which then presents a clearer understanding.

President Trump retweeted and replied early Sunday morning that "Department of Education is looking at this. If so, they will not be funded!" if California implements the curriculum in schools. Many other republicans oppose the 1619 Project in the name of trying to protect their preferred renderings of America’s national historical narrative. Most notably a bill in the US Senate “The Saving American History Act” was presented in order to prevent any federal money from going into teaching the program. Arkansas senator Tom Cotton, who introduced a bill in the US Senate in defense stated that slavery “was the necessary evil upon which the union was built” while also calling the project “left-wing propaganda”.

It is no coincidence that the outrage from allied republicans comes two days after Trump directed the Office of Management and Budget to have officials of federal agencies “alter” racial sensitivity training programs for employees which he deemed "un-American propaganda”. These anti-racism training sessions focused on white privilege" and "critical race theory" which are common issues that our society still faces. How can we honestly teach American History if we continuously neglect the consequences of slavery and the contributions of black Americans in our curriculum?