How long has America been America ?  No one really knows the true answer to what seems like a simple query.  Did it start with the Declaration of Independence? The American Revolution?  Or at the start of the first colonization? Due to mass confusion, the New York Times’s 1619 Project was issued to every single CPS high school, to be a resource about the institution of slavery in the United States.  ‘The 1619 Project’ displays an array of photography, historical documents, and art depicting the attitudes toward black Americans.  ‘The 1619 Project’ has become a part of the curriculum in many social science classes, even in our own Global Citizenship class, to discuss the oppression of black Americans and black resistance to racism.  Jahari Walker, ’21, stated “it’s kinda cool to see black history being made available to everybody.”

CEO of CPS Janice K. Jackson, EdD, expressed her gratitude to the Pulitzer Center for sending up to 400 copies of ‘The 1619 Project’ to each school.  October 8th, 2019, writer Nikole Hannah-Jones will livestream a discussion about the article on the CPS blog and social media accounts.  “I like how they’re really catering towards a younger crowd by streaming and trying to encapsulate the contributions of black people,”said Michael Acosta, ’22.  In contrast, Maya Martinez, ’23, indicated her doubt that “[any] piece of writing can truly show all of American history.”

Considering that intolerance has remained a huge issue in America for centuries, go explore the issue and figure out just how old this nation is!