A Critique of the 1619 Project

I come bearing a gift.

In no way would I say the project is useless, but teaching this before one has a solid foundation in US history would be a disservice.  

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/09/opinion/nyt-16…

11 Comments
 
Most Helpful

The 1619 Project is completely useless revisionist history concocted by a woefully disingenuous author that more than a dozen Pulitzer prize winners have spoken in protest against. It is garbage, and anyone who believes it is either flat out unintelligent or at least poorly read. To anyone who wants to learn about less known but historically important subjects as this claims to be, I would recommend reading The Red Decade by Eugene Lyons to cover something vastly under taught in the US.

"If you don't have any enemies in life you have never stood up for anything" - Winston Churchill | "It's a testament to the sheer belligerence of the profession that people would rather argue about the 'risk-adjusted returns' of using inferior tooth cleaning methods." - kellycriterion
 

My younger brother attends one of the top NE boarding schools, and in his US history class, his first or second reading was the factually inaccurate essay from the 1619 project (before it was revised, too, apparently). He said it was actually a very good essay, but that he would have liked it a lot more if it wasn't factually inaccurate. Still, he said his teacher was a PHD with published research – who evidently didn't see it as imprudent to give her class with an essay with several historical fallacies (or at least, exaggerations). 

I don't know if all of the classes at the school include that reading, but if I learned one thing, it's that liberal teachers at liberal institutions are *not afraid* to include this revisionist history in their curriculums.

The recently-written NYT OP-ed critiquing the article did a solid job of summing everything up – in essence, the ambition of the project (which was a nice idea – Black people are very much overlooked in US history) went too far, as it got to the point where true history was ignored. The comments section of the article, too, also has some interesting perspectives. 

 

Unde pariatur alias soluta facilis quaerat autem voluptas. Id sit nostrum adipisci nobis qui provident dolorem. Hic vel aut rerum qui enim. Laudantium officiis in sunt commodi saepe qui. Nihil consequatur et voluptatem qui corrupti quaerat harum.

In ratione omnis qui voluptatem minus odit sapiente. Dolores vitae consequatur dignissimos et. Minus et sit pariatur quos sed et eligendi. Repudiandae tenetur eveniet consequatur perspiciatis accusamus rem. Quidem ad quia quia quo. Temporibus aliquid omnis nobis est ullam.

Laboriosam quidem vero dolorum est in. Dolorem eos pariatur vero quisquam. Explicabo ut in corporis esse reprehenderit. Voluptates aut rerum iure ducimus dolores quis. Quis eos exercitationem nam sint in quis.

Quaerat magni at necessitatibus consequatur fugit neque. Sunt debitis nam necessitatibus blanditiis voluptatem vitae. Repellat distinctio pariatur voluptatum molestiae.

Career Advancement Opportunities

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.3%
  • Guggenheim Partners 01 97.7%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.1%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Morgan Stanley 02 98.8%
  • Evercore 01 98.3%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.7%
  • Banco Santander 01 97.1%

Professional Growth Opportunities

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 06 98.3%
  • JPMorgan 01 97.7%
  • Goldman Sachs 02 97.1%

Total Avg Compensation

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (14) $434
  • Associates (44) $258
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (22) $179
  • Intern/Summer Associate (13) $156
  • 1st Year Analyst (79) $150
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (73) $101
notes
16 IB Interviews Notes

“... there’s no excuse to not take advantage of the resources out there available to you. Best value for your $ are the...”

Leaderboard

1
redever's picture
redever
99.2
2
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
3
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
4
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
5
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
6
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
7
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
8
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
9
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
10
bolo up's picture
bolo up
98.8
success
From 10 rejections to 1 dream investment banking internship

“... I believe it was the single biggest reason why I ended up with an offer...”