Inside the Book: Nikole Hannah-Jones (THE 1619 PROJECT)

About THE 1619 PROJECT

A dramatic expansion of a groundbreaking work of journalism, The 1619 Project: A New Origin Story offers a profoundly revealing vision of the American past and present.

In late August 1619, a ship arrived in the British colony of Virginia bearing a cargo of twenty to thirty enslaved people from Africa. Their arrival led to the barbaric and unprecedented system of American chattel slavery that would last for the next 250 years. This is sometimes referred to as the country’s original sin, but it is more than that: It is the source of so much that still defines the United States.

The New York Times Magazine’s award-winning “1619 Project” issue reframed our understanding of American history by placing slavery and its continuing legacy at the center of our national narrative. This new book substantially expands on that work, weaving together eighteen essays that explore the legacy of slavery in present-day America with thirty-six poems and works of fiction that illuminate key moments of oppression, struggle, and resistance. The essays show how the inheritance of 1619 reaches into every part of contemporary American society, from politics, music, diet, traffic, and citizenship to capitalism, religion, and our democracy itself.

This is a book that speaks directly to our current moment, contextualizing the systems of race and caste within which we operate today. It reveals long-glossed-over truths around our nation’s founding and construction—and the way that the legacy of slavery did not end with emancipation, but continues to shape contemporary American life.

Featuring contributions from: Leslie Alexander • Michelle Alexander • Carol Anderson • Joshua Bennett • Reginald Dwayne Betts • Jamelle Bouie • Anthea Butler • Matthew Desmond • Rita Dove • Camille T. Dungy • Cornelius Eady • Eve L. Ewing • Nikky Finney • Vievee Francis • Yaa Gyasi • Forrest Hamer • Terrance Hayes • Kimberly Annece Henderson • Jeneen Interlandi • Honorée Fanonne Jeffers • Barry Jenkins • Tyehimba Jess • Martha S. Jones • Robert Jones, Jr. • A. Van Jordan • Ibram X. Kendi • Eddie Kendricks • Yusef Komunyakaa • Kevin M. Kruse • Kiese Laymon • Trymaine Lee • Jasmine Mans • Terry McMillan • Tiya Miles • Wesley Morris • Khalil Gibran Muhammad • Lynn Nottage • ZZ Packer • Gregory Pardlo • Darryl Pinckney • Claudia Rankine • Jason Reynolds • Dorothy Roberts • Sonia Sanchez • Tim Seibles • Evie Shockley • Clint Smith • Danez Smith • Patricia Smith • Tracy K. Smith • Bryan Stevenson • Nafissa Thompson-Spires • Natasha Trethewey • Linda Villarosa • Jesmyn Ward

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TAGS
#The1619Project #NikoleHannahJones

[romancewiththepast]

Karl Marx: “The first battlefield is to rewrite history”.

[ThePoliticrat]

Read Oswald Spengler instead. That’s a real historian.

[mcc.o.]

Just bought a copy. Looking forward to reading it.

[kevins]

When are you gonna release A Feast of Crows illustrated edition ? I hope I haven’t wasted my money buying the first 3 and then y’all never release the next 2.

[lawrencecarnegie]

Thank you! "Information is power."

[missmattie]

I am so proud of you, Nikole. Love you.

[ernesttilley]

Reading it now, an excellent read, and I will have this book with me to read for the rest of my life (can’t wait to read with the grandkids when I finally get some :-)

[wayne]

This is the beginning of the greatest piece of work in US history.

[eugenesant]

You can have Georgia, Alabama and ya'll have to move there and stay there.

[tgeep]

What is the plan to help Africa and middle eastern people there’s slavers in those countries what are u doing about W t f

[tgeep]

If you’re oppressed how are you able to publish a book seriously

[markfcoble]

She's typical perpetual victim class folk. Zero accountability and blames everything on others. Guess who?

[kleezer]

1619 project: written by Ronald Mcdonald

[WellWater-Rural-life]

All the oppressed people here on their Mac books and iphones😂 and expensive hair dye 😂

[kylerittenhouse]

1619 project is completely inaccurate history

[bell]

As a history educator, the 1619 project is not historically accurate, but rather is based on leftist, woke ideology that distorts and indoctrinates. Highly recommend the book The American Story: The Beginnings by David Barton

[spiritofseventysix]

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) on Thursday headed a letter sent to Education Secretary Miguel Cardona urging him to remove The New York Times's "1619 project" from federal grant programs.
"We write to express grave concern with the Department's effort to reorient the bipartisan American History and Civics Education programs, including the Presidential and Congressional Academies for American History and Civics and the National Activities programs, away from their intended purposes toward a politicized and divisive agenda, " the letter states.
The letter continues that during a time where schools have been shuttered due to the pandemic students have suffered "substantial learning losses." Thus, the letter states, this is a time to "strengthen the teaching of civics and American history in our schools."
The letter further argued that the the Education Department's proposed priorities applaud works such as the "1619 Project, " which the letter characterizes as "putting ill-informed advocacy ahead of historical accuracy." 
The letter is signed by McConnell and 38 other Republican senators.
The letter comes after the Department of Education listed the "1619 Project" in the department's proposed priorities for American History and Civics Education and said they would offer grant programs for schools that used it in the classroom.
The "1619 Project" was started by the New York Times in 2019, aimed at highlighting American history since the first slave ship arrived in the American colonies in 1619 and exploring the legacy of slavery and racism in the United States.
McConnell's letter contends that the project has been criticized by historians and serves to "double down on divisive, radical, and historically-dubious buzzwords and propaganda."
"Actual, trained, credentialed historians with diverse political views have debunked the project's many factual and historical errors, such as the bizarre and inaccurate notion that preserving slavery was a primary driver of the American Revolution, " the letter states.
Prominent liberal political strategists, academics and authors have their own criticisms of the 1619 Project but have yet to decide if they will go public with them,  sources told Politico.
"We request that you withdraw these Proposed Priorities and refocus on civic education and American history programs that will empower future generations of citizens to continue making our nation the greatest force for good in human history, " the letter concludes.
In a response to the letter, a Department of Education spokesperson said, "The background of the Notice of Proposed Priorities includes examples of how institutions and individuals are finally acknowledging the legacy of systemic inequities in this country and paying attention to it. The Department welcomes comments on the Proposed Priorities until May 19, 2021."