UNC Threw Shade on Nikole-Hannah Jones’ ‘1619 Project,’ Denying Her Tenure
Academia holds Black women to an arbitrary standard
Nikole Hannah-Jones is a Pulitzer-Prize winning journalist, MacArthur fellow, legal scholar, and activist. She published the “1619 Project” in the New York Times in 2019, which provided a candid view of American history, starting with the forced arrival of enslaved Africans to Jamestown. Hannah-Jones’ interactive project demonstrates with clarity that slavery was an essential component of America’s founding. That part right there has conservatives throwing shade. To the opposition, Hannah-Jones gave a clear message:
I see my work as forcing us to confront our hypocrisy, forcing us to confront the truth that we would rather ignore.
As a trailblazer searching for truth, Hannah-Jones embodies the highest principles of journalistic integrity. White people who oppose the project are just feeling salty. They do not want the nation to discuss slavery because it makes them feel uncomfortable. However, as free Black people, our lives and academic pursuits should no longer be limited by the shackles of Whiteness.
Pearl-clutching cannot change American history into something it is not. Watered-down history does a disservice to those reading it. It’s past time for our…
