New York Times 1619 Project Is Propaganda: Art Shows Truer View of Race in America

The 1619 Project, prepared by the New York Times and the Pulitzer Foundation, has taken plenty of hits for factual and intellectual sloppiness and its elevation of ideology — its high-end race baiting — over historical truth. The Project, published in August 2019 as a 100-page standalone issue of the New York Times Magazine, rewrites American history to put anti-black racism at the center of our political, social, and economic evolution since 1619, when 20 slaves arrived in Jamestown, Va. When a journalist starts a story with two whoppers — American patriots rebelled in 1776 to protect the slave system and “all men are created equal” was self-serving rubbish — I’m left in a skeptical frame of mind.

Of course, racism isn’t the gas that powers the American experiment. It’s making money. Still, while racism isn’t, as the Times insists, “our defining feature,” slavery and its aftermath are America’s most enduring tragedies. The 1619 Project is a poignant cultural event rooted in genuine, justifiable aggrievement. In reading it, I learned a lot.

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Brian T. Allen

Brian T. Allen is National Review’s art critic.

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The 1619 Project, prepared by the New York Times and the Pulitzer Foundation, has taken plenty of hits for factual and intellectual sloppiness and its elevation of ideology — its high-end race baiting — over historical truth. The Project, published in August 2019 as a 100-page standalone issue of the New York Times Magazine, rewrites American history to put anti-black racism at the center of our political, social, and economic evolution since 1619, when 20 slaves arrived in Jamestown, Va. When a journalist starts a story with two whoppers — American patriots rebelled in 1776 to protect the slave system and “all men are created equal” was self-serving rubbish — I’m left in a skeptical frame of mind.

Of course, racism isn’t the gas that powers the American experiment. It’s making money. Still, while racism isn’t, as the Times insists, “our defining feature,” slavery and its aftermath are America’s most enduring tragedies. The 1619 Project is a poignant cultural event rooted in genuine, justifiable aggrievement. In reading it, I learned a lot.