True, racism and slavery have existed throughout time and in more cultures than we can name. My understanding, though, is that the 1619 project is focused on America because, as Americans, we have so proudly boasted about our exceptionalism, our belief in equality and liberty and humanity, and yet not only did we willingly and deliberately institute slavery; we also perpetuated the so-called separate-but-equal doctrine into the 1950s and tried to maintain it for decades after. We still have so much to answer for, but as Imani Perry notes in her book South Toward Home, we can't stop fighting the battle because we've never fully acknowledged and dealt with how it started in the first place. Meaning that people even now say the Civil War started because of the battle over states' rights. That's akin to saying that our Revolution started because of the price of tea. But I appreciate your honest inquiry!!!