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Teachers union big backs ‘1619’

Selim Algar

The head of the American Federation of Teachers defended the use of The New York Times’ controversial “1619 Project” in public schools Monday and said it was being misinterpreted.

Randi Weingarten denied that the “1619 Project” teaches students that the pursuit of American independence sprang from a desire to perpetuate slavery, claiming she had personal conversations with the author.

“I’ve had several conversations with Nikole Hannah-Jones and I have not arrived at the same conclusion from her work as you have,” she told Fox News Channel host Martha MacCallum, arguing more broadly that schools should teach the roots of slavery in America.

MacCallum responded, “That’s not my conclusion. “That’s directly from their work.”

Weingarten claimed that the initiative was meant to be inclusive.

“I favor us teaching about 1776, which I have often done,” she said. “I favor us teaching about 1619. I also favor us teaching about the Holocaust and the genocide in terms of the Holocaust.”

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2021-05-11T07:00:00.0000000Z

2021-05-11T07:00:00.0000000Z

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