In a series of recent interviews, prominent historians criticized The New York Times’ “1619 Project” — which describes itself as seeking “to reframe the country’s history, understanding 1619 as our true founding, and placing the consequences of slavery and the contributions of black Americans at the very center of the story we tell ourselves about who we are” — as an “unbalanced, one-sided account,” which lacks important “context and perspective” on the complexity of slavery’s role in America’s history.

“In August of 1619, a ship appeared on this horizon, near Point Comfort, a coastal port in the English colony of Virginia. It carried more than 20 enslaved Africans, who were sold to the colonists,” the “1619 Project” splash page reads. “No aspect of the country that would be formed here has been untouched by the years of slavery that followed. In the 400th anniversary of this fateful moment, it is finally time to tell our story truthfully.”