Reprinted from the November 25, 2021 edition
First of four parts
The 1619 Project: A New Origin Story by Nikole Hannah-Jones, editor, recently was examined in the Kirkus Reviews, which reviews books. Here is the review.
“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 20 to 30 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. It 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 1619 Project: A New Origin Story builds on one of the most consequential journalistic events of recent years: The New York Times Magazine’s award-winning ‘1619 Project,’ which 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 the original 1619 Project, weaving together 18 essays that explore the legacy of slavery in present-day America with 36 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.
“This legacy can be seen in the way we tell stories, the way we teach our children, and the way we remember. Together, the elements of the book reveal a new origin story for the United States, one that helps explain not only the persistence of anti-Black racism and inequality in American life today, but the roots of what makes the country unique.
“The book features a significant elaboration of the original project’s Pulitzer Prize–winning lead essay, by Nikole Hannah-Jones, on how the struggles of black Americans have expanded democracy for all Americans, as well as two original pieces from Hannah-Jones, one of which makes a profound case for reparative solutions to this legacy of injustice.
“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.
“Karen Long adds to this story:
“‘Forty-five years ago in Iowa, Milton and Cheryl Hannah welcomed the second of their three daughters. The sisters grew up to attend Waterloo West High School, where Nikole wrote for the newspaper. She was graduated from the University of Notre Dame and the University of North Carolina, then ascended the ranks of journalism, starting with the Raleigh News and Observer. By 2015, she was an investigative reporter for The New York Times.
‘“In less than five years, Nikole Hannah-Jones (her married name) led The 1619 Project, an anthology marking four centuries of repercussions since the first Africans, 20 to 30 people, arrived in the British colony of Virginia and were sold into bondage. Hannah-Jones won a Pulitzer Prize for the project’s introductory essay.”
Continued next week