The New York Times recently released a special 100-page edition of its Sunday magazine arguing that slavery has left an indelible mark on the soul of our nation and that its legacy remains the principal cause of inequities between races. Titled “The 1619 Project” (referencing the arrival of the first black slaves, 400 years ago), the initiative is designed to show that whites have always been and continue to be the beneficiaries of both slavery and its attendant institutional racism—and blacks the perpetual victims.

This...