Chicago City Wire

The Union League Club of Chicago has invited Nikole Hannah-Jones, fabulist and founder of the so-called "1619 Project," to speak at its annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Day Celebration.

Hannah-Jones, who joined the New York Times as a staff writer in 2015, posited that America's true founding year wasn't 1776 but 1619-- the year African slaves arrived in Virginia. She said that the United States was a country specifically built to perpetuate African slavery, and that the American Revolution was fought primary to preserve African slavery.

The project was "launched" in August 2019, when the New York Times Sunday Magazine dedicated 100 pages to it. 

Historian Peter Wood countered the 1619 Project with a book, 1620: A Critical Response to the 1619 Project, which described it as "an abject failure of both accurate reporting and well-founded historical interpretation," listing its errors in detail.

Hannah-Jones responded, Wood said, by "refusing to correct (the error) when they were brought to her attention by a who's who of eminent historians. She further compounded those errors by lying about what she originally said."

Author and historian Thomas Sowell, who has written frequently on slavery, has pointed out that the United States was actually the first country in world history to ban the practice.

"Slavery was just not an issue, not even among intellectuals, much less among political leaders, until the 18th century – and then it was an issue only in Western civilization," Sowell wrote.

"Among those who turned against slavery in the 18th century were George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Patrick Henry and other American leaders," Sowell said. "You could research all of the 18th century Africa or Asia or the Middle East without finding any comparable rejection of slavery there. But who is singled out for scathing criticism today? American leaders of the 18th century."

The Union League Club 2020-21 Board of Directors includes Nancy A. Ross of Wilmette, John L. Donnelly of Glenview, Thomas F. Karaba of Chicago, Kimberly A. Palmisano of Chicago, Robert D. Kreisman of Evanston, Wendy J. Betts of Evanston, Sandra W. Blakemore of Chicago, Matthew R. Farrell of Chicago, Emily F. Moreno of Chicago, Cherilyn G. Murer of Homer Glen, Patrick M. Palella of Norridge, Laurel A. Rundle of Chicago, Robert J. Ryan of Chicago, Ann Saltz of Evanston, Steven G. Schermerhorn of Park Ridge and Paul W. Shade of Crystal Lake.