The Bulwark said earlier this year that the 1619 Project “rests on bad history and misrepresented facts,” but maybe accurate historical facts weren’t the goal after all. Don’t listen to us (or The Bulwark) though — here’s 1619 Project founder Nikole Hannah-Jones responding to a thread criticizing Sen. Tom Cotton and the alleged “conservative freakout about the 1619 Project”:
Oh, this is a fabulous, thoughtful thread. He is right: The fight over the 1619 Project is not about history. It is about memory. https://t.co/3Ji7SMUFo6
— Ida Bae Wells (@nhannahjones) July 27, 2020
“Not about history”? Er, OK.
I’ve always said that the 1619 Project is not a history. It is a work of journalism that explicitly seeks to challenge the national narrative and, therefore, the national memory. The project has always been as much about the present as it is the past.
— Ida Bae Wells (@nhannahjones) July 27, 2020
The crazy thing is, the 1619 Project is using history and reporting to make an argument. It never pretended to be a history. We explicitly state our aims and produced a series of essays. Critique was always expected, but the need to discredit it speaks to something else.
— Ida Bae Wells (@nhannahjones) July 27, 2020
Further, the curriculum is supplementary and cannot and was never intended to supplant US history curriculum (which is pretty terrible but none of these folks seem concerned about that.)Teachers have used it in English, social studies, art, foods classes.
— Ida Bae Wells (@nhannahjones) July 27, 2020
The fight here is about who gets to control the national narrative, and therefore, the nation’s shared memory of itself. One group has monopolized this for too long in order to create this myth of exceptionalism. If their version is true, what do they have to fear of 1619?
— Ida Bae Wells (@nhannahjones) July 27, 2020
Well isn’t that something.
“My life’s work is not about history, it’s actually about my ideological frame disguised as history.” https://t.co/uy4asTC7in
— Kevin McMahon (@KevinMcMahonYAF) July 27, 2020
It’s also worth noting that Hannah-Jones was awarded a Pulitzer Prize for the 1619 Project:
It’s about “narrative” and “story,” not history. This is actually a damning admission. https://t.co/uX4i6zuert
— Mo Mo (@MollyRatty) July 27, 2020
I too have been saying it’s not history since it was published. https://t.co/wthEzSiSdu
— Stephen L. Miller (@redsteeze) July 27, 2020
Okay, now that the author is openly admitting that the 1619 Project is a work of propaganda, not history, can people please drop their absurd objections to it being excluded from history curriculums? https://t.co/WC1QSFfJNm
— Henry (@HMSPitts) July 27, 2020
Project 1619 has NO place in schools. https://t.co/ldYoeVQdIE
— Julie H Wright✝️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Text TRUMP to 88022 (@juliew38138) July 27, 2020
If it “is not a history,” then surely it shouldn’t be taught as such in schools. https://t.co/Xg9Zmw6smA
— Benn Steil (@BennSteil) July 27, 2020
So since you admit it’s propaganda, can we stop teaching this in schools as history? https://t.co/aKWDqApmTS
— DFW Bengals/Reds Fan (@BengalsFansDFW) July 27, 2020
Judging by a few of the replies from some who claim to be in education, that’s not going to happen.
“It’s not about what actually happened, it’s about what I feel like happened” -Pulitzer Prize Winner https://t.co/oKxtUTfHay
— “Mostly Peaceful” Cocaine Mitch (@ColumbianMitch) July 27, 2020
“whatever feels right must mean it’s actually true”
– party of science https://t.co/dnu0KlDOr4
— Branson Taylor (@Btaylor74) July 27, 2020
So you wrote the story you wanted to tell, rather than what really happened and your social privilege and power prevented anyone in authority from challenging you. https://t.co/TytLCR4U6V
— Chad Felix Greene (@chadfelixg) July 27, 2020
So
Propaganda
Thanks for being honest https://t.co/GFhJmRnAgy— Jim Hanson 🇺🇸 (@JimHansonDC) July 27, 2020
Saying the quiet part out loud. https://t.co/cy0dolualx
— Varad Mehta (@varadmehta) July 27, 2020
Yep, that was a helpful admission.
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Related:
‘It’s falling apart’: 1619 Project architect Nikole Hannah-Jones’ ‘small’ clarification is actually a pretty big deal
1619 Project creator apologizes for Brooklyn fireworks conspiracy theory tweet
1619 Project architect says ‘destroying property, which can be replaced, is not violence’
