In August 2019, the New York Times initiated its “1619 Project,” declaring that it “aims to reframe the country’s history, understanding 1619” — when 20 slaves were brought to Jamestown,Virginia — “as our true founding, and placing the consequences of slavery and the contributions of Black Americans at the very center of our national narrative.” The head of the project, Nikole Hannah-Jones, declared: ”I argue that 1619 is our true founding. Also, look at the banner pic in my profile.” The banner picture simply has “July 4, 1776” with a line through it, and beneath it, “August 20, 1619.”
Among the “1619 Project” claims are:
1. At the moment that the first 20 slaves were sold in America, “America was not yet America, but this was the moment it began.”
2. The preservation of slavery was a major cause of the American Revolution.
