5 times leftist activists wanted to rewrite American history this year
Professors across the country left comments on Twitter saying they teach the 1619 project, which proclaims that America was founded on racism. But scholars have discredited the idea.
Campus Reform compiled a list of this year's top instances where students and professors advanced leftist interpretations of American history.
Leftist activists want to reframe American history. This often comes in the form of calling for the removal of statues and advocating for teaching that America was founded on racism.
Campus Reform compiled a list of this year’s top instances where students and professors advanced leftist interpretations of American history.
1. Lincoln statue must go, article in Syracuse student newspaper argues
Student-led news outlet at Syracuse University, The Daily Orange, published an article titled “The Seated Lincoln statue does not represent SU’s current ethics,” which called for the removal of a statue of Abraham Lincoln.
Campus Reform reported earlier this month that the author justified his position by pointing to Lincoln’s ordering of “the execution of thirty-eight Dakota natives for rebelling.”
The author, however, fails to mention that the executions were ordered by Lincoln due to the Dakota natives massacring men, women, and children who had settled in the area.
2. University removes statue of its namesake to create ‘more welcoming’ campus quad
A statue of Rice University’s founder and namesake, William Marsh Rice, has been relocated because the historical figure was a slave owner.
As reported by Campus Reform in February, the statue was moved to a more discreet location in an attempt to make the student quad “more welcoming.”
3. Professors tweet about how they are using the ‘1619 Project’ in class
Campus Reform reported in March that Nikole Hannah-Jones tweeted to college professors, asking them to share their syllabi with her if they use the 1619 Project in their classrooms.
Scholars from around the country left comments on Jones’ post about how they use or have previously used the ideas from her publication in their own classrooms.
Her work, however, has been discredited by multiple scholars, as noted by Campus Reform in October.
4. Princeton considers removal of John Witherspoon statue because he had slaves
In November, Princeton University considered removing a statue of John Witherspoon, the sixth president of Princeton and signer of the Declaration of Independence.
Three graduate students concerned that he owned slaves started a petition to have the statue removed.
The petition read “paying such honor to someone who participated actively in the enslavement of human beings, and used his scholarly gifts to defend the practice, is today a distraction from the University’s mission.”
In October, Campus Reform reported that New York State Democrat Senator Jessica Ramos and Assemblywoman Marcela Mitaynes introduced a bill that would officially erase Columbus Day as a state holiday and replace it with Indigenous People’s Day.
The legislatures argued that “Christopher Columbus did not discover America” and does not warrant the holiday.
