Protests have now erupted at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill after the school denied tenure to the pioneer of the 1619 Project.
What We Know:
- The school’s board of trustees decided not to give tenure to Pulitzer prize-winning journalist Nikole Hannah-Jones. Hannah-Jones is known for her pioneering work on institutional racism with the 1619 Project. The 1619 Project began in August 2019, which marked the 400th anniversary of the beginning of American slavery. The initiative intends to reframe the country’s history by placing the consequences of slavery at the center of the national narrative.
- Hannah-Jones is a recipient of The MacArthur genius grant and was also appointed to UNC’s Knight Chair in the race and investigative journalism. The dean of the journalism school, Susan King, said that Hannah-Jones had enthusiastic support from faculty during the tenure project.
- Many of the UNC faculty members gathered at a board of trustees meeting on Thursday morning in protest. They have been on a campaign to restrict discussion about systemic racism in schools. Other critics of the decision include historians, activists, alumni, and students. UNC initially faced complaints from conservative activists who didn’t want Hannah-Jones to work at the school. Bernice King, the minister and daughter of Martin Luther King Jr., called the decision “shameful.”
- Alternatively, Hannah-Jones is set to be on a fixed five-year term. She will have the option of being reviewed for tenure at the end of that period. The school’s board of trustees does not have to approve fixed-term positions. More than 40 faculty members at the university’s journalism school signed a letter that called the decision a “failure” and demanded more information on their reason.
The 1619 Project was a target of Donald Trump, who attacked the initiative and created a commission to promote “patriotic education.”
