This is for people wishing to discuss the 1619 project, for reading materials with all NY times related essays can be found in the following pdf.
Itâs funny that in discussions of education, itâs always about white people. Teach white people that theyâre racist. Teach white people about black history.
Isnât this a bitâŚracist? What about African-Americans and how they relate to their history?
For instance, how many of them know about the history of their ancestors in West Africa, which had a great empire and one of the worldâs wealthiest emperors?
Instead of teaching African-Americans that their history began in slavery, and that their destiny is victimhood, wouldnât it be worthwhile to teach them about their amazing cultural legacy?
These discussions are about how we teach American history, so⌠no.
Itâs also not about telling white people theyâre racist, or that black peoplesâ destiny is victimhood. Seriously, give it a read.
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The first slave ship arrived in Virginia in 1619. The last one arrived in 1859-1860. For more than 200 years, people from West Africa came to the United States against their will.
Do you think they arrived with empty minds and hearts? Of course not. They brought their knowledge and culture. Knowledge and culture from West Africa.
Do you know how much this has influenced what we today claim as âAmericanâ culture? Language, music, dance, art, food. You can trace many aspects of âAmericanâ culture to the cultures of the slaves who came from West Africa.
The fact that you donât even realize that so much of what you consider âAmericanâ culture traces its origins to West Africa shows how much the American education system has shortchanged Americans of all backgrounds.
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Thatâs a bit of a pivot from what it appeared you were suggesting.
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How so?
The American education system effectively teaches African-Americans that their history begins in slavery. It totally cuts them off from their African roots.
Imagine if we taught Chinese Americans that their history began in California in the 19th century? Or American Jews that their history began on Ellis Island?
No, it doesnât suggest teaching that. Seriously, go read the mofo.
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âanti-black racism runs in the very DNA of this countryâ
â Nikole Hannah-Jones
If someone claimed that âpoverty runs in the very DNA of Africaâ would that be racist?
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Depends on the context I suppose, although that statement seems much less likely to make sense in context to me. But give me a try and provide me some context for such a statement.
The context is the author of the 1619 project claiming that racism runs in the DNA of white Americans.
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I actually read the first essay which that quote is mentioned, it seems to go over a history of what African Americans have experienced and I believe is pretty accurate, itâs a long essay and Im sure there will be objections.
As I recall that phrase was brought up after laws were made that would move towards the founding principles of freedom and equality for all and yet the south entered a second stage of oppression for many years the explanation at least in part was the racism was embedded so deeply within the nation it was a part of who they were at that time.
Itâs not suggesting racism is in the DNA of white people. But doesnât paint a pretty picture of how white people have treated African Americans over time, nor should it.
Truth doesnât have an agenda.
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Youâre losing your own thread man - thatâs not what you asked about, and hence not what I answered a question to.
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Thatâs not true. It teaches about their African roots as well. Where are you getting this?
Can I see where you are quoting from? I kind of doubt thatâs how itâs phrased in the text. The quoteâyou posted itâ says âRacism runs deep in the DNA of this countryâ. You have substituted âwhite Americansâ for âthis countryâ. Why?
The quote is accurate (enough), context is important. But good point about him trying to twist it anyway. 
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@QuaSaShao: âThe 1619 project is a racist conspiracy theoryâ
In what way is it a conspiracy theory?
" whose key tenet is that racism is in the DNA of white people"
Thatâs not what the author of the project said
âand their only hope for redemption is to admit that theyâre morally inferior and submit to a lifetime of atonement.â
at best a cynical strawman type argument (if intentional), otherwise simply a misreading.
âThis supposedly is a radical solution which will finally expunge systemic racism from American society.â
Is the idea of putting African Americans central in American history and celebrating their accomplishments radical?
Sadly, it instead merely perpetuates racism by reinforcing its key notion that the content of oneâs character is determined by the color of their skin.
again, this is nowhere to be found in the text.
I skimmed it. Thereâs a small section that pays lip service to the contributions of African and African-American culture to American culture, but much of the rest just looks like ideological stuff. It paints an us-them narrative and even though it appears that the creators want to take a hard, honest look at parts of history that are uncomfortable, it doesnât even begin to touch a number of important yet inconvenient facts.
I mean, how can you discuss the history of slavery in America if you donât even look at the history of slavery itself. Shouldnât students have an historically accurate context in which to understand what happened?
If itâs the DNA, thereâs nothing you can do. What do you do? Alter your DNA?â
Hannah-Jonesâs contention that âanti-black racism runs in the very DNA of this countryâ drew a rebuke from James Oakes, one of the Wilentz letterâs signatories. In an interview with the World Socialist Web Site , Oakes said, âThe function of those tropes is to deny change over time ⌠The worst thing about it is that it leads to political paralysis. Itâs always been here. Thereâs nothing we can do to get out of it. If itâs the DNA, thereâs nothing you can do. What do you do? Alter your DNA?â
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I always find stuff like this interesting:
Most Americans still learn very little about the lives of the enslaved, or how the struggle over slavery shaped a young nation. Last year, the Southern Poverty Law Center found that few American high-school students know that slavery was the cause of the Civil War, that the Constitution protected slavery without explicitly mentioning it, or that ending slavery required a constitutional amendment.
Studies have shown that large percentages of Americans canât even name prominent current political figures, such as the VP, or a single justice on the Supreme Court.
Thatâs apparently why we have to dumb it down. If youâre white, you just have to remember that racism is in your DNA. If youâre black, you just have to remember that youâre always going to be disadvantaged because racism is in the DNA of white people.