Politics

Tom Cotton Introduces Bill To Deny Federal Funds To Schools That Teach The NYT’s ‘1619 Project’

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Republican Arkansas Sen. Tom Cotton introduced legislation Thursday which would prohibit the use of federal funding from going towards the teaching of The New York Times’ “1619 Project.”

The Saving American History Act of 2020 would also bar federal professional-development grants from schools that teach curriculums related to the “1619 Project.” (RELATED: New York Times Writer Claims Property Destruction Is ‘Not Violence’)

“The New York Times’s 1619 Project is a racially divisive, revisionist account of history that denies the noble principles of freedom and equality on which our nation was founded. Not a single cent of federal funding should go to indoctrinate young Americans with this left-wing garbage,” Cotton said in a press release.

Reporter Nikole Hannah-Jones attends The 75th Annual Peabody Awards Ceremony at Cipriani Wall Street on May 20, 2016 in New York City. (Mike Coppola/Getty Images for Peabody Awards )

Reporter Nikole Hannah-Jones attends The 75th Annual Peabody Awards Ceremony at Cipriani Wall Street on May 20, 2016 in New York City. (Mike Coppola/Getty Images for Peabody Awards )

The 1619 Project was spearheaded in 2019 by New York Times reporter Nikole Hannah-Jones, who argues that the history of the United States began when the first slaves reached North America in 1619, not in 1776. Hannah-Jones responded to Cotton’s bill by posting a link to the curriculum on her Twitter page.

“Here’s the FREE curriculum for anyone interested. I am glad a founding principle of this republic is freedom of speech,” she said.

Hannah-Jones recently admitted to writing a screed to Notre Dame’s The Observer when she was 19, which described white people as “barbaric devils” and “bloodsuckers.” Hannah-Jones said she wrote the letter in response to a previous letter to the same publication, which disparaged Native American culture. (RELATED: NYT 1619 Project Lead Reporter Pushes Conspiracy Theory, Appears To Delete And Reactivate Her Twitter Account)

Hannah-Jones was awarded a Pulitzer Prize for the project, despite criticism from some historians and civil rights activists. Despite the criticisms, some public school districts throughout the country have announced plans to integrate the project into their curriculum.

These schools include Chicago-based Belding Elementary, Acero Schools, Back Of The Yards High School, Englewood STEM High School, Christian Fenger Academy High School, Infinity Math Science & Technology High School, Instituto Justice and Leadership Academy, Horizon Science Academy Southwest, Chicago Hope Academy, Whitney M. Young Magnet High School and Hyde Park Academy High School, all of which previously declined requests for comment from the Daily Caller.