The 1619 Project
Information to consider before we allow Public Education to support this focus on our Countries History.
The
1619 Project. Information which I
gleaned from Wikipedia.
The 1619 Project is
a controversial historical revisionism project developed by Nikole Hannah-Jones, writers from The New York Times, and The New York Times Magazine which
"aims
to reframe the country's history by placing
the consequences of slavery and the
contributions of black Americans at the very center of the United States' national
narrative".[1] The project was first published in The New York Times Magazine in
August 2019 for the 400th anniversary of the arrival of the first enslaved Africans in England's Virginia colony.[2] The project later included a broadsheet
article, live events, and a podcast.[3]
However the same Wikipedia article had this to
publish about when enslaved Africans arriving in America:
Background[edit]
The 1619 Project was launched in August 2019
to commemorate "the 400th anniversary of the first enslaved people
arriving" in North America.[17][18] However, the first enslaved African
people arrived in North America in 1526.[19] Slavery in North America extends to before
the arrival of Europeans[20] and
European slavery in the New World is documented as far back as Columbus in
1494, possibly as early as 1493.[21] In 1619, African slaves arrived in the Colony of Virginia. A ship carrying 20–30 people who had been
enslaved by a joint African-Portuguese war[22] on Ndongo in modern Angola, landed at Point Comfort in the colony of Virginia.[17][23]
My
Understanding of this 1619 Project: I understand that facts and opinions may not
always agree. The timing of the launch
of the 1619 Project for me is questionable when facts bear out that 1619 was
not the first time enslaved Africans were brought to America. The opinion/s of the 1619 author remain just
that – opinions.
My additional comments: It appears to me that we have some among us
who choose to ignore why our Country was founded. For me the Declaration of Independence makes
it very clear. Our Founders desired to
start a New Nation that allowed all to have Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of
Happiness. Unfortunately the human
condition of greed, which I call a sin, prevented many from enjoying our Freedoms. Just as sin entered the Human Situation when
the first couple ate the wrong apple and the first kids took envy to the point
where one killed the other. I am
confident that everyone knows of these events.
No reason to change history here, yet we have that Author of the 1619
Project attempting to change facts as they have been recorded. Opinions for the individual who develops them
are valid for that individual only, unless others jump on the bandwagon. However opinions should never be the basis of
a national movement.
While it is a fact that the condition of
slavery lasted longer than it should have, because it should have never been
allowed to flourish at all; we must accept the fact that it did. Why?
Because of the Human Condition which I discussed above – Greed or as I
consider it “Sin!”
To appreciate the History of Education in our Country I know that it is essential that consideration be given to the events of 1927 when a Trial was held. I know that Judges and Courts issue Opinions. That is a fact, however I know that I and My anchestors as well as my own dear children and their offspring did not evolve from an ameobe swimming ashore on some beach many years ago.
Here is what I gleaned from Wikipedia on that famous trial which also generated an opinion:
The Scopes Trial in
1927 – Religion versus Evolution
Until the late 19th century, creation was taught in nearly all schools in the United States, often
from the position that the literal interpretation of the Bible is inerrant. With the widespread acceptance of the scientific
theory of evolution in
the 1860s after being first introduced in 1859, and developments in other
fields such as geology and astronomy, public schools began to teach science that was reconciled with Christianity by most people, but considered by a
number of early fundamentalists to be directly at odds with the Bible.
In the aftermath of World War I, the Fundamentalist–Modernist Controversy brought a surge of opposition to the
idea of evolution, and following the campaigning of William Jennings Bryan several states introduced legislation prohibiting the
teaching of evolution. Such legislation was considered and defeated in 1922
in Kentucky and South Carolina, in 1923 passed
in Oklahoma, Florida, and notably in 1925 in Tennessee, as the Butler Act.[1] The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) offered to defend anyone who
wanted to bring a test case against one of these laws.[1] John T. Scopes accepted, and he started teaching his class evolution, in
defiance of the Tennessee law. The resulting trial was widely publicized
by H. L. Mencken among others, and is commonly referred
to as the Scopes Trial.
Scopes was convicted; however, the widespread
publicity galvanized proponents of evolution.
When the case was appealed to the Tennessee Supreme Court, the Court overturned the decision on a
technicality (the judge had assessed the fine when the jury had been required
to). Although it overturned the conviction, the Court decided that the law was
not in violation of the First Amendment
to the United States Constitution. The Court held:
We are not able to see
how the prohibition of teaching the theory that man has descended from a lower
order of animals gives preference to any religious establishment or mode of
worship. So far as we know there is no religious establishment or organized
body that has its creed or confession of faith any article denying or affirming
such a theory. — John Thomas Scopes v. The State 154 Tenn. 105, 289 S.W. 363 (1927)[2]
The interpretation of the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment up to that time
was that Congress could not establish a particular religion as the State religion.
Consequently, the Court held that the ban on the teaching of evolution did not
violate the Establishment Clause, because it did not establish one religion as
the "State religion." As a result of the holding, the teaching of
evolution remained illegal in Tennessee, and continued campaigning succeeded in
removing evolution from school textbooks throughout the United States.[3][4][5]
As I have heard very often in recent days: "We must focus on and seek Unity in our United States of America!"
Thank You!
