“This project is, above all, an attempt to set the record straight. To finally… tell the truth,” explains Nikole Hannah-Jones, who created the 1619 Project.
One article connects today’s terrible workplace conditions to slavery. Another explains that America’s refusal of Universal Health Care is right in line with its racist history.
Through these and dozens of other articles - nearly all by Black writers - the project retells the history of America by centering the people who built it: the enslaved.
Though it’s been largely praised, of course some denounce it. Erick Erickson, a conservative writer, argues that Black writers are too biased when writing about race. This is a common racist viewpoint.
He also, shockingly, said this: “The Times… minimizes or undermines the cost white people paid to free slaves.” Wow.
Former congressman Newt Gingrich has called the 1619 Project “brainwashing” and “a lie.”
The irony is that the American history we’re taught is the definition of brainwashing. We’re told lies about the legacy of slavery daily and expected to “leave it in the past.” The 1619 Project exposes this.
We know why they’re really upset - they’re afraid! With reparations talk on the table, and white supremacy in America slowly shrinking, they’re worried they’ll lose their grip on power.
And if we continue educating ourselves, supporting projects like this, and never letting the truth be silenced - they just might!