Virginia library paying ‘1619 Project’ creator $35,350 for ‘hour-long’ speech on controversial work

A major Virginia public library system is reportedly paying “1619 Project” creator and anti-racist author Nikole Hannah-Jones over $35,000 dollars for just one upcoming, hour-long speaking engagement.

According to the Fairfax County Times in Northern Virginia, Fairfax County Public Library staff have agreed to pay the controversial journalist a whopping $35,350 for an hour-long lecture at the McLean Community Center.

The paper stated that the price tag amounted to $589 per minute of Hannah-Jones’ speech.

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Hannah-Jones is most well known for her polarizing “1619 Project,” a collection of essays published by The New York Times that insists that America’s founding history is steeped in more racism than has been traditionally taught. 

One of the narratives established by the project is that the Revolutionary War was fought to protect and preserve the institution of slavery from the British crown. 

Historians have heavily criticized the work over such claims, among others, though Hannah-Jones stands by it. She recently defended the controversial journalistic project during a “Good Morning America” interview on Wednesday. 

After GMA host Robin Roberts asked Hannah-Jones to sum up her work, the writer described it up in one work:, “Truth.”

Hannah-Jones will be speaking on themes from the work at her expensive Feb. 19 Fairfax County speaking engagement.

A program agreement form provided to Hannah-Jones by the county noted the title of the event speech, “The 1619 Project – A New Origin Story.”

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It explained that the speaker would arrive at the event at “12:15 p.m.,” participate in a “VIP Event” from “12:30 p.m. to 1:10 p.m.,” and after a 50 minute “Green Room Break,” give a “40-45-minute” talk. The talk would be followed by 15 or so minutes of Q&A.

The document also detailed the breakdown of the speaker’s price tag, indicating it would cover her “First Class Airfare,” as well as provide funds for some of the speaker’s “out-of-pocket expenses.” The county also agreed to pay for her “ground transportation.”

According to the Times report, the Fairfax County Public Library will pay $29,350 of the fee, while the McLean Community Center will pay the rest. 

It added, “Local taxpayers are raising issues with the expenditure,” especially with fact that the county paid $22,500 for “a 60-minute virtual discussion last month.”

The Times noted that the combined payment amounts to “$57,850, or about the annual starting salary of about $54,421 for a librarian in Fairfax County.” The piece also claimed that last August, “library officials announced they were curtailing operating hours because of ‘ongoing staff recruitment challenges.’”

The New York Post quoted local Fairfax residents who were unhappy with the appearance. Michael Albin, a member of the Fairfax County Taxpayers Alliance, called it a “misuse of public funds for propaganda programming.” 

He added, “She’s invited to sabotage American history and ideals at a library talk, and when? … get this, on Presidents’ Day weekend, a patriotic national holiday. If that isn’t sabotage of our values, I don’t know what is.” 

Fox News Digital reported that Hannah-Jones spoke at the “Arlington Reads Signature Author Event” for the Arlington Public Library in Virginia last September. During the event, the author discussed “The 1619 Project,” touting her belief that America is “one of the most unequal societies in the history of the world.”

Fox News Digital reached out to Hannah-Jones and Fairfax County Public Library for a comment confirming the journalist’s price tag and more details on the content of her speech. They’ve provided no response as of filing time.