A portion of the report dedicated to the civil rights movement also misappropriates quotes from King, and claims that laws passed in favor of voting rights, housing and outlawing discrimination were the ultimate “culmination” of centuries of efforts to fulfill the nation’s founding principles. What follows is a rebuke of ongoing efforts to address discrimination, dismissing them as “group rights” that run counter to equality. The report is also notable in its omissions, as King issued searing critiques of racism in law enforcement and policing, access to economic opportunities, and various other elements of American society that went largely unaddressed by reforms passed in the 1960s.This tweet was apparently a response to the issuance of The 1776 Project report, or at least it was posted just after the report came out:
“When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir,” the document quoted from King’s “I Have a Dream” speech.
But according to Daina Ramey Berry, a professor and chair of the history department at the University of Texas at Austin, the "1776 Report" didn’t incorporate King’s words properly.
“Yes, he talked about a promissory note, but he said that the United States wrote a bad check,” Berry said in a statement. “The very next sentence of King’s speech is, ‘It is obvious today that America has defaulted on this promissory note insofar as her citizens of color are concerned.’ As historians, this is precisely what we are trained not to do — to use quotes out of context. A full history of our land must include an accurate portrayal of the sacrifices and contributions of the enslaved and other marginalized groups of people.” [my emphasis]
A copy of The 1776 Report as issued by the Trump White House is available from The 1776 Project.
No comments:
Post a Comment