Senate Minority Leader sends letter to Education secretary demanding removal of the 1619 Project
District of Columbia | April 30, 2021
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell is wading into the culture wars Friday morning.
In a letter obtained by CNN, the Republican leader asks Education Secretary Miguel Cardona to abandon curriculum in American schools that McConnell argues tells a revisionist history of America’s founding.
McConnell claims these programs such as The New York Times 1619 Project “re-orient” the view of American History “away from their intended purposes toward a politicized and divisive agenda.” Politico was the first to report on the letter.
The 1619 project has become a hot button issue for conservatives across America and politicians have fought efforts by school districts to make it a part of history curriculum in public school districts. The project, launched by The New York Times in 2019, reframes American history around the date of August 1619 when the first slave ship arrived on America’s shores, and it has launched a fierce debate over the legacy that slavery has played in shaping America, particularly as it relates to its treatment of Black citizens. Republicans have misleadingly suggested there are widespread efforts to install the program in schools across the country. Former President Donald Trump made it a rallying cry during the 2020 election. While some states, like California, have used the project as part of their learning plan, the federal government has not directly instructed or promoted schools to use it, as it does not play a role in specific curriculum planning in local schools. Those decisions are largely made at the state level….
(Excerpts from CNN)