2021-11-23 12:04:18

Nikole Hannah-Jones on “The 1619 Project,” Teaching Critical Race Theory & White Supremacy on Trial

Amid a right-wing attack on teaching critical race theory, we speak in-depth with Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist Nikole Hannah-Jones, creator of the New York Times Magazine’s 1619 Project, which reframes U.S. history by marking the year when the first enslaved Africans arrived on Virginia soil as the foundational date for the United States.

The project launched in 2019, and has been expanded into an anthology of 18 essays along with poems and short stories, even as several states have attempted to ban it from school curriculums.

“We should all as Americans be deeply, deeply concerned about these anti-history laws because what they’re really trying to do is control our memory and to control our understanding of our country,” says Hannah-Jones.

Hannah-Jones’s new book that she co-edited is out this month, titled The 1619 Project: A New Origin Story, along with an adaptation of the 1619 Project for children, “Born On The Water.” Hannah-Jones describes the role of her own teachers in opening her eyes beyond the usual curriculum that excluded the history she has now uplifted.

She also discusses the trial of the murderers of Ahmaud Arbery, and how she felt when she won the Pulitzer Prize on the same day as one of her heroines, the formerly enslaved pioneering anti-lynching journalist, Ida B. Wells.

Democracy Now! produces a daily, global, independent news hour hosted by award-winning journalists Amy Goodman and Juan González. Our reporting includes breaking daily news headlines and in-depth interviews with people on the front lines of the world’s most pressing issues. 

On DN!, you’ll hear a diversity of voices speaking for themselves, providing a unique and sometimes provocative perspective on global events.

Missed an episode?  Check out DN on FSTV VOD anytime or visit the show page for the latest clips.

#FreeSpeechTV is one of the last standing national, independent news networks committed to advancing progressive social change. 

#FSTV is available on Dish, DirectTV, AppleTV, Roku, Sling, and online at freespeech.org.

1619 Project Amy Goodman Critical Race Theory Democracy Now! Free Speech TV Nikole Hannah-Jones Pulitzer Prize United States

Human Rights and Equality

Her Voice, Her Power: The Story of Hira Anwar | Generation Girl Code

Her Voice, Her Power: The Story of Hira Anwar | Generation Girl Code

Democracy Now!

Voices Silenced: Why Mahmoud Khalil Faces Deportation | Democracy Now!

Voices Silenced: Why Mahmoud Khalil Faces Deportation | Democracy Now!

Democracy Now!

Trump Admin Targets Momodou Taal, Pro-Palestinian PhD Student, for Deportation | Democracy Now!

Trump Admin Targets Momodou Taal, Pro-Palestinian PhD Student, for Deportation | Democracy Now!

FSTV Speaks

Protect Workers & Public Services (AFL-CIO) | FSTV Speaks

Protect Workers & Public Services (AFL-CIO) | FSTV Speaks

Related

This Week In White Supremacy- Presented by 1HoodMedia

Empire City: Dr. Chenjerai Kumanyika | This Week In White Supremacy

Empire City: Dr. Chenjerai Kumanyika | This Week In White Supremacy

The Thom Hartmann Program

Evening Replays of the Thom Hartmann Program Available on FSTV

Evening Replays of the Thom Hartmann Program Available on FSTV

Means Midday News NOW on FSTV — Real News, No Billionaires Required

Means Midday News NOW on FSTV — Real News, No Billionaires Required

Working Families Party Mass Call 4/16 -- Watch on Demand Now!

Working Families Party Mass Call 4/16 -- Watch on Demand Now!

Proud Partners