The 1619 Project Education Network has released a mathematics curriculum that asks students to consider how much to pay the descendants of slaves, according to a Tuesday report by Fox News.
The curriculum will analyze how several industries grew as a result of the slave trade and how these industries contribute to the existing black-white wealth gap, according to the program’s official website. Students will also “investigate the historical and financial backgrounds” of different reparations proposals, both in the United States and abroad. Students will, per the unit resources, study “how reparations have been paid throughout history to communities throughout the world” and use algebra to evaluate the mathematical models underlying reparations proposals. (RELATED: GOP Senate Candidate Calls For Reparations For White Union Solider Descendants)
1619 Project Education Network offers ‘reparations math’ unit to students focused on basis for payments https://t.co/JZWYeZfNNZ
— Fox News (@FoxNews) June 6, 2023
The curriculum would also have students compare reparation payment patterns to function families such as linear, exponential and absolute value, according to the unit resources. Students would then create presentations in which they report their findings and explain whether they believe reparations should be paid and why, the webpage explains.
The unit is intended for high schoolers who are studying U.S. History, Algebra I and Algebra II, per the unit documents.
“Reparations Math” was inspired by H.R. 40, a bill that would develop a commission to study reparations for the descendants of American slaves, according to the webpage.