A Democratic state representative from Chicago, Illinois, said history should stop being taught in the state’s public schools, alleging that current history curriculum “leads to white privilege and a racist society.”
“When it comes to teaching history in Illinois, we need to end the mis-education of Illinoisans,” state Rep. LaShawn Ford said during a Sunday conference, where he was joined by a group of Chicago’s officials and educators, who called for a statewide overhaul of history classes in public schools.
Ford, who didn’t provide specific examples from the curriculum that is being used, argued that Illinois’ history teachings do not sufficiently focus on contributions by women and minorities. He demanded the Illinois Board of Education and school districts to immediately remove history curriculum and books that “unfairly communicate” history until a “suitable alternative” is developed.
The 1619 Project is championed by New York Times reporter Nikole Hannah-Jones, who considers the arrival of the first enslaved Africans in the year of 1619 in Jamestown, Virginia, as the true beginning of the history of the United States. Aiming to “reframe American history,” the project consists of a set of essays the argue, among many other controversial claims, that the American Revolution was primarily fought to preserve slavery.
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