President Trump threatened U.S. school’s Sunday stating that if they taught the New York Times’ essays on slavery, they would be rejected federal education funding, UPI reports.
What We Know:
- In 2019, the New York Times published a series of essays titled the “1619 Project”. The works, which later received a Pulitzer Prize, are named in honor of the 400th anniversary of slaves arriving in Virginia in 1619 and highlights their importance to the rich history of America.
- An unverified report that the California school system was teaching the 1619 Project in classrooms prompted a Tweet from President Trump suggesting the Department of Education was investigating the situation.
Department of Education is looking at this. If so, they will not be funded! https://t.co/dHsw6Y6Y3M
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 6, 2020
- The 1619 Project has been attacked by conservatives since its inception, including from U.S. Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) who said it was “revisionist history” and “filled with serious errors”. Earlier this summer, Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) introduced legislation to ban schools from using the essays as curriculum. Nevertheless, New York Times editor in chief Jack Silverstein backed its message, adding that it will “expand the reader’s sense of the American past”.
- Despite the President’s objection, Bernice King, MLK Jr.’s daughter, encouraged parents to teach the essays to children at home. “The highest office in the land is trying to stop teaching [what] will bring us closer to eradicating racism,” she wrote. “It’s been too long,” she added, “Justice will win.”
Trump’s decision comes as race relations around the country are at a serious low, an issue Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden has promised to repair if elected in November.
