Trump says officials will investigate whether California is using 1619 Project in classrooms

President Trump on Sunday threatened to withhold funding from California schools incorporating The New York Times’s 1619 Project in their classrooms.

“Department of Education is looking at this,” Trump tweeted in response to an anonymous post claiming the Times series had been “implemented … into the public schools” in California. 

“If so, they will not be funded!” he added.

Department of Education is looking at this. If so, they will not be funded! https://t.co/dHsw6Y6Y3M

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 6, 2020

The president’s allies have frequently targeted the Pulitzer Prize-winning Times series, which emphasizes the legacy of slavery in American history.

Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) in July introduced legislation that would make any schools using 1619 Project materials ineligible for federal professional development grants. Cotton called the series “a racially divisive and revisionist account of history that threatens the integrity of the Union.”

The White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) last week ordered federal agencies to end workplace sensitivity training that teaches that the U.S. “is an inherently racist or evil country” or “that any race or ethnicity is inherently racist or evil.”

It is unclear to what extent, if at all, such programs are in place at the agencies, with the OMB citing “press reports.”