The 1619 Project: A New Origin Story
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 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.
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Community Reviews
Interesting and informative book regarding slavery and its effects as told by people whose ancestors were enslaved.
So much dust has been kicked up about the 1619 Project and Critical Race Theory. After reading the book version, you can see why conservatives are running scared. The collection of essays in this book will at first anger you, then break your spirit, and after rebuild it with resolve. Then like all truth, in the end, it will set you free. Free to see all the fuckery of the history they teach you in school. Informed with the knowledge to counter all of the tactics and lies of bigotry.
The most important thing we learn from facing our sordid history is that “Black struggles for equality resulted in greater rights for all Americans.” Conversely, many of our nations biggest problems persist because the agents that stand in the way of change know that to truly fix long standing issues in our country means to embrace truly equitable outcomes for all Americans. A state of equality they just can’t live with. A demand, in the form of reparations, is clearly spelled out and justified in the closing.
From 1619 to now, the worst of us have found a way to block progress and cover up the historical truths in order to maintain a status quo that leaves them at the top of the racial hierarchy. Knowing all this, there is no wonder why this book, among others, is on the list of banned books in various states. It is a lot too stomach and took me three times as long to read it as a book I this length would otherwise. But the strongest medicine is hard to swallow and heals the body in due course.
“We cannot change the hypocrisy upon which we were founded. We cannot change all the times in the past when this nation had the opportunity to do the
right thing and chose to return to its basest inclinations. We cannot make up for all of the lives lost and dreams snatched, for all the suffering endured. But
we can atone for it. We can acknowledge the crime. And we can do something to try to set things right, to ease the hardship and hurt of so many of our fellow Americans.” ~ Nikole Hannah-Jones
right thing and chose to return to its basest inclinations. We cannot make up for all of the lives lost and dreams snatched, for all the suffering endured. But
we can atone for it. We can acknowledge the crime. And we can do something to try to set things right, to ease the hardship and hurt of so many of our fellow Americans.” ~ Nikole Hannah-Jones
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