Biden Administration Education Secretary Miguel Cardona (D-Calif.)
House Appropriations Committee Vice Chairman Tom Cole (R-Okla.) confronted Education Secretary Miguel Cardona about a proposed new rule during a hearing on the education budget request Wednesday, May 5. With the new rule, Cardona plans to prioritize federal education funding for Project 1619 classes that teach “America is a racist country.
Cole expressed “deep concern” about the Department of Education’s new prioritization criteria for an education grant. The $5.3 million grant would be used for U.S. history and civics education courses. The proposal, which is currently under a 30-day public discussion period, specifically cites the New York Times’ “1619 Project” and the work of critical race theorist Ibram Kendi as model materials for elementary and secondary education.
The “1619 Project” was launched by the New York Times in 2019 by black journalist Nikole Jones. Its purpose is to “reshape American history by recounting the consequences of slavery and the contributions of blacks to America as the center of the American historical narrative.” It cites the arrival of the first Africans in the Virginia colony in 1619 as the first year of the “birth of America.
“The 1619 Project consists of a series of essays on the impact of slavery and racism on various aspects of contemporary American society, and a collaboration with the Pulitzer Center to produce a textbook on American history. Many leftist journalists, multidisciplinary scholars, and social activists have participated in its wide dissemination and promotion. However, its historical accuracy has been questioned by scholars from all walks of life, including the project’s own fact-checkers.
“These references intentionally and unintentionally politicize civic education and create the impression that the government cannot be trusted to conduct civic education in a bipartisan, non-ideological manner,” Cole told Cardona, noting that the controversy is also threatening legislation being sponsored to expand civic education in U.S. schools.
Cole added, “In my view, civics education should bridge the divisions in our country, and this proposal exacerbates them.”
In response, Cardona explained that the proposal is not intended to dictate curriculum at the federal level, but rather to clarify what schools that wish to apply for the grant would include in their curriculum. He said, “The Department of Education is not dictating the curriculum or showing a preference one way or another …… What it is doing is providing parameters for grant applicants to be as clear as possible so that applicants can submit their applications successfully.”
Cardona believes that the United States is a “divided country,” but that the education system can “bring Americans together. “Our goal is to build community, to help students learn and grow together.”
“But that notice from the registrar didn’t bring us together, it backfired,” Cole said, countering him.
In a statement in The Oklahoman after the hearing, Cole said Cardona’s answers were contradictory and unclear. “As a former history professor, I certainly support providing diverse perspectives on issues in the field of education. However, the Department of Education’s citation of ‘Project 1619’ as a factual, historical analysis is worrisome and out of line,” Cole’s statement said.
Cole’s concerns were shared by 39 Senate Republicans, including Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.). In a letter sent to Cardona last week, the senators argued that history and civics education should focus on the truth about the development of the U.S. code and history, not on “radical indoctrination” that “divides our nation into camps. They wrote: “Taxpayer-supported programs should emphasize the civic virtues of unity and cooperation, not the radical agenda of promoting division.”
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