New York Times Magazine writer Nikole Hannah-Jones, author of the 1619 project, has reportedly been offered $35,350 for a lecture at a local library.
Public library officials in Fairfax County, Virginia, apparently offered Hannah-Jones $35,350 to give an hour-long lecture on Feb. 19 at the McLean Community Center, school choice activist Asra Nomani reported in the Fairfax County Times.
🚨 EXCLUSIVE @FairfaxTimes. Guess what Fairfax County Public Library is paying “1619 Project” author @nhannahjones for a one-hour talk?
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$33,350 or $555.83/min, in the name of “equity,” or “One Fairfax.” https://t.co/lYtnyFXyyL— Asra Nomani (@AsraNomani) January 25, 2023
The Fairfax County Public Library will reportedly pay $29,350 of the fee and the McLean Community Center will pay the remaining $6,000, according to Nomani. (RELATED: Former Teachers Union President Charged With Embezzling $400,000)
Taxpayers have taken issue with public funds being used to pay divisive authors such as Hannah-Jones and “antiracist” historian Ibram X. Kendi, who was paid $22,500 for an hour-long virtual discussion in December, according to the Fairfax County Times.
Hannah-Jones’ 1619 project is a series of essays published by New York Times Magazine designed to “reframe the country’s history by placing the consequences of slavery and the contributions of black Americans at the very center of our national narrative,” the 1619 project website states.
Historians and academics have noted numerous factual errors in Hannah-Jones’ essays and disputed its claims about the American Revolution being designed to protect slavery. The Times has issued clarifications and quietly edited portions of the 1619 project since it was first published in August 2019.
Hannah-Jones has advocated for equity programs in education and criticized opposition to critical race theory. The 1619 project has become part of public school curriculums in cities such as Chicago.
