âAcademic freedomâ is something conservatives generally advocate, in large part because weâre rarely granted it. That was one of the arguments advanced by Peter Wood last week. But the Daily Wireâs Michael Knowles offers a compelling counterpoint:
Finally some good news on campus: Nikole Hannah-Jones has been denied tenure at the University of North Carolina. Although Hannah-Jones, the New York Times fabulist behind the anti-historical 1619 Project, had secured the endorsement of the schoolâs journalism department, the universityâs board of trustees has intervened to deny her permanent employment.
The trustees made the right decision. Hannah-Jones has won impressive accolades, including the MacArthur âGenius Grantâ and a Pulitzer Prize, but she deserves none of them. As academic historians from across the political spectrum noted when the 1619 Project first appeared, Hannah-Jonesâs entire thesis depends upon a lie. âOne of the primary reasons the colonists decided to declare their independence from Britain,â Hannah-Jones argued, âwas because they wanted to protect the institution of slavery.â