WATCH: Nikole Hannah-Jones calls 1619 Project ‘truth,’ urges schools to teach it
Julia Johnson
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Ahead of the 1619 Project’s Hulu debut, its author Nikole Hannah-Jones said one word that can be used to describe the series is “truth.”
The controversial work has been developed into a series for the streaming platform, which she says “is really coming at a critical time.”
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Good Morning America host Robin Roberts asked Jones on Wednesday, “You feel that in all aspects of America — of who we are, it can be traced back and has the remnants of slavery. Do you think that’s something that people will understand with the series?”
“Absolutely,” Jones said.
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“This is the American story,” she claimed. “We’ve tried to segregate these histories — there’s black history and then there’s American history. But you can’t understand America if you don’t understand the role of black Americans, the role of slavery, the role of racism.”
Taking a shot at Gov. Ron DeSantis’s (R-FL) move banning the advanced placement course for African American studies, she told Roberts, “You can ban what someone can learn in a classroom, but you can’t stop them from watching this documentary series and getting that information.”
According to Roberts, Jones still wants her work, the 1619 Project, included in school history curricula.
Since it’s publication, Jones’s book has been debunked by several historians. In a letter to the editor of the New York Times Magazine, five historians claimed, “These errors, which concern major events, cannot be described as interpretation or ‘framing.’ They are matters of verifiable fact, which are the foundation of both honest scholarship and honest journalism.”
Despite this, the controversial work has still found its way into classrooms — even those that don’t disclose its presence.
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In a recent undercover investigation conducted by watchdog group Accuracy in Media, it was revealed that educators across the country change the labels of educational content in order to inject controversial topics. “We don’t have the 1619 Project as a part of our curriculum officially, but it is referenced as a resource in several places,” one Ohio school official told investigators on hidden camera.
The organization has been conducting similar investigations across the United States, finding that educators have adapted their language to stay under parents’ radars.