T. Keung Hui, Kate Murphy
Tue, October 26, 2021
Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Nikole Hannah-Jones urged supporters of public education in North Carolina on Tuesday to organize to fight “anti-history laws” being promoted by Republican lawmakers.
Hannah-Jones said the left hasn’t gotten “mad enough” in opposing the “culture war that has been contrived by the right wing” that has led to laws banning schools from teaching things such as her 1619 Project.
She said at an online forum of North Carolina educators that people are living in “dark and scary times” where teachers are ”afraid to even teach and talk about the experiences that their children are having.”
“We’re being outgunned right now and I think that’s because this is not an issue that’s getting enough of the people on the left angry,” Hannah-Jones said. “People on the right are very angry and anger is often what inspires you to organize and to push for laws and to push for these changes.”
Hannah-Jones was the keynote speaker Tuesday at The Color of Education Summit, a two-day virtual event drawing 1,600 people “to engage in critical conversations centered on addressing issues of racial equity and education.
The summit is sponsored by the Public School Forum of North Carolina’s Dudley Flood Center for Educational Equity and Opportunity, the Samuel DuBois Cook Center on Social Equity and the Center for Child and Family Policy at Duke University,
Leader of 1619 Project
Hannah-Jones is a staff writer at The New York Times Magazine focused on racial injustice best known for her work on The 1619 Project. The project reframes the legacy of slavery and places the contributions of Black Americans at the forefront of the country’s history and is often cited in the local, state and national debate over teaching Critical Race Theory.
Hannah-Jones was named the Knight Chair in Race and Journalism at Howard University this summer after turning down a similar position at UNC-Chapel Hill that sparked national controversy. She was set to join the UNC-CH faculty this fall, but wasn’t initially granted tenure by the UNC-CH Board of Trustees. Some argued that decision, or lack thereof, was rooted in conservative politics and The 1619 Project.
She is a MacArthur “Genius” grant winner and was recently recognized as one of Time Magazine’s 100 most influential people.
1619 Project under attack
The 1619 Project has been cited by Republicans at the federal and state level to introduce legislation prohibiting Critical Race Theory from being taught in schools.
U.S. Senator Thom Tillis is among the sponsors of federal legislation to defund any school system that uses the 1619 Project as teaching materials, The News & Observer previously reported.
“The 1619 Project is a racially divisive and revisionist account of history that threatens the integrity of the Union by denying the true principles on which it was founded,” the federal legislation says.
Republican lawmakers passed legislation that they say would prevent North Carolina public schools from promoting Critical Race Theory. The legislation was vetoed by Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper, who said the bill “pushes calculated, conspiracy-laden politics into public education,” the N&O reported.
Opponents of Critical Race Theory have charged that it presents an overly negative view of the nation’s history in which teachers say that white people unfairly get privileges due to their race.
Hannah-Jones said Critical Race Theory is only being taught in colleges. But she said “bad-faith actors” have redefined Critical Race Theory to target the American history, Black history and anti-racism texts being taught in K-12 public schools.
“You’re teaching in a school district that was segregated by law,” Hannah-Jones said. “To talk about that is to not teach about Critical Race Theory. That is to teach the history of our country and to help our students.”
If these “anti-history laws” stand, Hannah-Jones said the nation is in danger of teaching students to support inequity in society.
Nation in ‘dark and scary times’
Valerie Bridges, the superintendent of Edgecombe County Public Schools, asked Hannah-Jones how educators can empower parents who support mask mandates and support learning about all races. Critics of mask mandates and Critical Race Theory have shown up at school board meetings across the country.
Hannah-Jones said educators need to show parents what’s being taught as opposed to what the right says students are learning. She said parents and other education supporters need to organize to speak out at meetings and to write letters to the editors like the opposition.
“We pay attention to those who are the loudest when we need to pay attention to those who are the most rational and acting in good faith,” Hannah-Jones said.
Hannah-Jones said the situation in North Carolina has gotten worse since she was a reporter at The News & Observer.
“We have to stop being so passive in believing that things are going to work out in the end,” she said. “They are not. Trust me, as a student of history, we are actually in a very dangerous period.”
Ritzy Prep School Head on Leave After ‘1619 Project’ Debacle
Noah Kirsch
Thu, October 28, 2021
Arturo Holmes/Getty
The head of a ritzy New England boarding school is taking a leave of absence, following backlash over a decision to block The New York Times writer Nikole Hannah-Jones from speaking on campus.
Hannah-Jones, founder of the Times’ 1619 Project, had been invited to speak to students during a planned diversity symposium next winter. But the head of school, David Beare, allegedly intervened, fearing her presence would create too much “noise,” according to the excerpt of an email Hannah-Jones posted to her Twitter account.
The decision sparked outcry from alumni, while current students staged a walkout. Close to 100 faculty members reportedly wrote a letter of protest as well.
In a note addressed to the Middlesex community on Thursday, which The Daily Beast obtained, Beare wrote that he believed a leave of absence “serves the best interest of the students and the School. Thank you to everyone in the School community who has reached out to me and my family during this challenging time.”
Alums Pissed After Ritzy Prep School Disinvites 1619 Writer
In a separate note sent late last week, and jointly signed by Beare and the president of the board of trustees, Stephen Lari, the pair apologized for what they called a “profoundly wrong” decision.
“We deeply regret it and have had many gut-wrenching conversations within our community regarding the decision, how it was made, and the disrespect we showed Professor Hannah-Jones,” they added.
The board of trustees stated that the entire group had not been consulted on the matter in advance.
In yet another letter sent on Thursday, the board announced that Middlesex’ assistant head of school, Karlyn McNall, would assume Beare’s role on an interim basis.
They also announced an independent review “to determine the facts and draw the necessary lessons” from last week’s debacle.
During the fallout, Middlesex had been criticized for its apparent hypocrisy. Less than two weeks ago, it had published an open letter espousing its commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion, and citing the importance of the “open exchange of viewpoints.”
The board sought to address that dissonance on Thursday, writing that “this experience has only reinforced the need for thoughtful discussions… With the help of students, faculty, staff, alumni, parents and the school’s leadership, we can emerge from this moment as a stronger, more unified, and more thoughtful and sensitive community.”
Noah Kirsch
Thu, October 28, 2021
Arturo Holmes/Getty
The head of a ritzy New England boarding school is taking a leave of absence, following backlash over a decision to block The New York Times writer Nikole Hannah-Jones from speaking on campus.
Hannah-Jones, founder of the Times’ 1619 Project, had been invited to speak to students during a planned diversity symposium next winter. But the head of school, David Beare, allegedly intervened, fearing her presence would create too much “noise,” according to the excerpt of an email Hannah-Jones posted to her Twitter account.
The decision sparked outcry from alumni, while current students staged a walkout. Close to 100 faculty members reportedly wrote a letter of protest as well.
In a note addressed to the Middlesex community on Thursday, which The Daily Beast obtained, Beare wrote that he believed a leave of absence “serves the best interest of the students and the School. Thank you to everyone in the School community who has reached out to me and my family during this challenging time.”
Alums Pissed After Ritzy Prep School Disinvites 1619 Writer
In a separate note sent late last week, and jointly signed by Beare and the president of the board of trustees, Stephen Lari, the pair apologized for what they called a “profoundly wrong” decision.
“We deeply regret it and have had many gut-wrenching conversations within our community regarding the decision, how it was made, and the disrespect we showed Professor Hannah-Jones,” they added.
The board of trustees stated that the entire group had not been consulted on the matter in advance.
In yet another letter sent on Thursday, the board announced that Middlesex’ assistant head of school, Karlyn McNall, would assume Beare’s role on an interim basis.
They also announced an independent review “to determine the facts and draw the necessary lessons” from last week’s debacle.
During the fallout, Middlesex had been criticized for its apparent hypocrisy. Less than two weeks ago, it had published an open letter espousing its commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion, and citing the importance of the “open exchange of viewpoints.”
The board sought to address that dissonance on Thursday, writing that “this experience has only reinforced the need for thoughtful discussions… With the help of students, faculty, staff, alumni, parents and the school’s leadership, we can emerge from this moment as a stronger, more unified, and more thoughtful and sensitive community.”
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