New York Times journalist and "1619 Project" creator Nikole Hannah-Jones once again pushed back against critics, this time by claiming that their comments were "not legitimate."
She appeared on MSNBC as part of a "Banned Book Club" segment discussing books that have been "banned" from certain schools. Regarding Hannah-Jones’ work, MSNBC host Ali Velshi questioned whether or not she predicted the level of criticism she would face.
"I was asking you when you came out with ‘The 1619 Project’ at the New York Times Magazine, I don't think you could've foreseen how much criticism you were going to get. Good or bad that it happened?" Velshi asked.
"I mean, you know it's mixed. I think so much of the criticism is not legitimate critique. It's not coming from people who have engaged with the ideas of the project or the work. But at the same time, the more they talk about it just actually helps spread the message, right?" Hannah-Jones responded. "I wanted us to know the date 1619, to take that date out of obscurity, and certainly it is not an obscure date anymore."
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While Hannah-Jones admitted that there's "certainly valid critique of any ambitious project" like hers, she referred to ongoing attacks against her work "propaganda."
"[W]e should just call the anti-critical race theory campaign what it is, it's a propaganda campaign, right? It was stoking division for political gain. Because obviously, both Critical Race Theory, the Actual Critical Race theory, and the 1619 Project are not talking about individuals, they're talking about systems. It's the opposite of that," Hannah-Jones said.
Hannah-Jones made similar claims in January by suggesting during an MSNBC town hall where she claimed special interest groups are determined to keep the "history" in her work out of schools.
"There are powerful interests that don’t want us to understand that history, that don’t want us to understand our common struggle. So we’re over here fighting for crumbs and respect while the hierarchy is maintained and stays in place," Hannah-Jones said.
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"The 1619 Project" was recently adapted into a six-part docuseries on Hulu that began airing on Jan. 26. Although Hannah-Jones won a Pulitzer Prize for her work in 2020, multiple historians have called out her work for several inaccuracies including a claim that the Revolutionary War was fought to preserve slavery.
Near the end of the segment, Velshi questioned whether she felt "stronger" after multiple years of attacks and criticisms.
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"The last four years I’m definitely stronger, because as I understand, is that you don’t see these types of efforts against this book, any other books that have been banned if they’re not having impact. If they don’t matter to millions of people. They’re not banning books that no one cares about. So yes, I’m definitely stronger, and again, I just so appreciate the way that you have shined the light on this for the last year," Hannah-Jones wrote.
