Trevor Noah trolls Sen. Tom Cotton with a 'less racially divisive' slavery curriculum for students


Some school districts are planning to teach U.S. history using a curriculum from the Pulitzer Center and The New York Times based on the 1619 Project, which views U.S. history through the lens of slavery. "But now there's one U.S. senator who is objecting in the strongest — and also, possibly, stupidest — terms," Trevor Noah said on Monday's Daily Show. Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) "thinks that this curriculum is racially divisive? Really? This curriculum? Yo, you know what's really racially divisive? Slavery."
"People are upset because when Cotton says that slavery was 'a necessary evil on which the union was built,' it sounds like he's defending slavery," Noah said. "And that's not something a U.S. senator should do, even if his name is Cotton." Still, he added, "if you dig deeper and you take Cotton at his word, he believes that the United States could not have become the country that it is without slavery. Well, that's the same thing that the 1619 Project says. So why is he fighting them?"
You might also "be thinking, if Sen. Cotton wants schools to teach a less racially divisive version of slavery, then why doesn't he introduce his own lesson plan?" Noah asked. "Well, good news: With our help, he already did." You can watch the curriculum preview below. Peter Weber
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.
-
Fannie Flagg’s 6 favorite books that sparked her imagination
Feature The author recommends works by Johanna Spyri, John Steinbeck, and more
-
Google: A monopoly past its prime?
Feature Google’s antitrust case ends with a slap on the wrist as courts struggle to keep up with the tech industry’s rapid changes
-
Patrick Hemingway: The Hemingway son who tended to his father’s legacy
Feature He was comfortable in the shadow of his famous father, Ernest Hemingway
-
Florida erases rainbow crosswalk at Pulse nightclub
Speed Read The colorful crosswalk was outside the former LGBTQ nightclub where 49 people were killed in a 2016 shooting
-
Trump says Smithsonian too focused on slavery's ills
Speed Read The president would prefer the museum to highlight 'success,' 'brightness' and 'the future'
-
Trump to host Kennedy Honors for Kiss, Stallone
Speed Read Actor Sylvester Stallone and the glam-rock band Kiss were among those named as this year's inductees
-
White House seeks to bend Smithsonian to Trump's view
Speed Read The Smithsonian Institution's 21 museums are under review to ensure their content aligns with the president's interpretation of American history
-
Charlamagne Tha God irks Trump with Epstein talk
Speed Read The radio host said the Jeffrey Epstein scandal could help 'traditional conservatives' take back the Republican Party
-
CBS cancels Colbert's 'Late Show'
Speed Read 'The Late Show with Stephen Colbert' is ending next year
-
A long weekend in Zürich
The Week Recommends The vibrant Swiss city is far more than just a banking hub
-
Shakespeare not an absent spouse, study proposes
speed read A letter fragment suggests that the Shakespeares lived together all along, says scholar Matthew Steggle