Nikole Hannah-Jones On Controversy Around ‘The 1619 Project’: “This Is Not Actually A Radical Project” – Contenders TV: Docs + Unscripted
deadline.comThe 1619 Project, according to one description, “illuminates the legacy of slavery in the contemporary United States, and highlights the contributions of Black Americans to every aspect of American society.” Nothing controversial there, right?
Wrong. The initiative, which originated with a New York Times Magazine issue and has now been adapted into a Hulu documentary series, has triggered passionate reactions from the start. “This project has come out in a time where we have deep, deep societal polarization,” series host and executive producer Nikole Hannah-Jones noted during an appearance at Deadline’s Contenders Television: Documentary + Unscripted event.
Hannah-Jones won the Pulitzer Prize for the print series. The furor notwithstanding, she maintained, “This is not actually a radical project.
It’s based on decades of scholarship and within the history profession the ideas that we put forth are actually not that controversial. … Many Americans have been open to its arguments.” Across six episodes, The 1619 Project examines the historical antecedents behind systemic racial injustice evident in policing, health care, wealth inequality, even capitalism itself. “This isn’t just Black history, it’s American history.
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