When The New York Times launched the 1619 Project, an ongoing initiative to reexamine the legacy of slavery and the contributions of Black Americans, in 2019, it sparked a national debate about the “true founding” of America. Now, in response to the 1619 Project and its examination of slavery, Texas leaders have created an alternative project that highlights their state’s contributions.
Last week, a committee appointed by Texas leaders including Gov. Greg Abbott approved a 15-page draft of a document titled the Texas 1836 Project, which is named for the year that Texas declared its independence from Mexico. A brochure featuring the approved text will be given to those seeking a Texas driver’s license, according to the Houston Chronicle.
Gov. Abbott greenlit the idea of promoting “patriotic education” in June 2021 when he enacted Bill 2497, which is focused on “the state’s history founding” and how “Texas became so exceptional.”
The brochure touches on Texas’ complicated history with slavery, which is described as “far from perfect.” It also mentions the state’s past discriminatory laws against Black people and how they “barred African Americans from voting” in 1923.
Some critics of the Texas 1836 Project have pointed out their concerns with the pamphlet — including its title, which highlights the year of Texas’ independence from Mexico but does not include the emancipation date of enslaved Black and Indigenous people. Nikole Hannah-Jones, creator of the 1619 Project, said the Texas project was a tactic to limit the discussion of slavery.
“As @GovAbbott proudly signed the 1836 Project into law, & states across the U.S. are banning teaching that centers slavery and truthfully recounts our nation’s racist past, history is again instructive: This’s part of a legacy of the government banning the discussion of slavery,” Hannah-Jones tweeted when the bill was announced in June 2021.
“One of the historical facts that you likely won’t learn in the 1836 Project, 1776 Project or any other 1619 Project copycats is that in 1836, Congress adopted a “gag” rule against any conversation abt the abolition of slavery being considered,” Hannah-Jones also tweeted.
While some critics have called out the pamphlet’s limited discussion of slavery and how it relates to the Black experience, others like Leonard N. Moore, professor of American history at the University of Texas at Austin, support it, saying those seeking more information on the legacy of slavery should rely on Black institutions like NAACP.
“I think it’s incumbent upon us, whether teachers or professors…to say ‘OK, this is a good start, but now let’s dig deep within the Black experience of Black folks in Texas,’” said Moore, who is Black, of the brochure which he believes was designed to encourage patriots and independent thinkers.
In addition to approving the Texas 1836 Project, in June 2021 Abbott signed a critical race theory bill limiting the teaching of race relations in schools. Other states including Tennessee, Oklahoma and Iowa, also followed suit.
CORRECTION (Sept. 16, 1:55 p.m. ET): A previous version of this article mischaracterized a comment from Nikole Hannah-Jones. She said the Texas project was a tactic to limit the discussion of slavery, not to limit discussion of critical race theory.
