The Conservative Censorship Campaign Reaches Its Natural Conclusion

September 13, 2023 1 min read

Adam Serwer
The Atlantic

Excerpt: Four years ago, The New York Times Magazine’s 1619 Project, a series of essays aiming to place “the consequences of slavery and the contributions of Black Americans at the very center of our national narrative,” sparked heated debate.

Some criticisms of the essays were substantive, others less so. The backlash, however, has endured long after the initial arguments died down. Following the 2020 Black Lives Matter protests, Republican-controlled states enacted a set of education gag laws censoring historical instruction around race. A few such laws specifically banned the teaching of materials associated with the 1619 Project.

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