When discussing The 1619 Project—a series of essays that argue the history of America’s founding was a racist endeavor to preserve and perpetuate slavery—it’s important to realize that it is fundamentally a work of journalism, not actual history. Doing what they do best, some writers for The New York Times put together a leftist narrative based on partial truths, dubious scholarship, and outright fabrications that they packaged as something new and significant.
As such, it is mostly immune to criticism or correction. Like most fake news, the accounts were read, accepted, and processed before those with actual knowledge could respond with the truth. Numerous historians eventually came out against the 1619 Project, even one who was consulted for the project itself, and all were either ignored or at best placated with cosmetic changes to some of the project’s advertisements.
The project’s controversial subject matter also made potential criticism problematic. Who is willing to subject himself to the charges of racism and white supremacy that would inevitably follow when any point is made about slavery and racism in American history? Even for experts on the topic, this could be treacherous.
Knowing all this, Mary Grabar bravely enters the fray to deliver an authoritative and thorough rebuttal, Debunking The 1619 Project. Unlike the target of her critique, Grabar’s argument is meticulously sourced and delicately argued to show the many nuances of these issues. In other words, she is a serious scholar schooling unserious hacks.
