Nikole Hannah-Jones, who won a Pulitzer Prize for her reporting on America’s slavery history, said she is determined to compel a reckoning around the country’s self-image following the racial tensions faced in 2021. 

In an interview with the Associated Press, the New York Times 1619 Project creator said the year’s events, including controversy surrounding her project and unjust killings of Black men by police, were a true eye opener that confirmed what she already knew. 

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“This year is just reflective of what I have always understood about this country. And that is that steps forward, steps towards racial progress, are always met with an intensive backlash,” Hannah-Jones told AP. 

The Hill reported Hannah-Jones also referenced current voting restrictions and gerrymandering initiatives, comparing them to measures enacted after Reconstruction during the Jim Crow era. 

In terms of whether the country is on track to make any progress on issues of racial justice, Hannah-Jones believes many in the mainstream media were caught up in the Republican propaganda campaign, adding that she’s hoping for “some serious examination” of the role the media played in promoting and legitimizing the propaganda effort. 

“The 1619 Project” launched in 2019 and intends to redefine the country’s history by emphasizing the effects of slavery and African-American successes through a series of essays and stories, per the Times’ website. 

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Hannah-Jones is presently collaborating with Oprah Winfrey and Lionsgate on a film and television adaptation of the project.