"The 1619 project is an ongoing initaitive from The New York Times Magazine that began in August 2019, the 400th anniversary of the beginning of American slavery. It aims to reframe the country's history by placing the consequences of slavery and the contributions of black Americans at the very center of our national narrative."
Silverstein, Jake. "Why we published The 1619 Project." The New York Times Magazine, December 20, 2019.
This guide contains a collection of library and web resources that will help you explore the implications of this project.
"Our founding ideals of liberty and equality were false when they were written. Black Americans fought to make them true. Without this struggle, America would have no democracy at all" (p. 14)
"Chained Migration: How Slavery Made Its Way West" (p. 22)
"In order to understand the brutality of American capitalism, you have to start on the plantation" (p. 30)
"Why doesn't the United States have universal health care? The answer begins with policies enacted after the Civil War" (p. 44)
"A traffic jam in Atlanta would seem to have nothing to do with slavery. But look closer..." (p. 48)
"What the Reactionary Politics of 2019 Owe to the Politics of Slavery" (p. 50)
"How False Beliefs in Physical Racial Difference Still Live in Medicine Today" (p. 56)
"Why Is Everyone Always Stealing Black Music?" (p. 60)
"The sugar that saturates the American diet has a barbaric history as the 'white gold' that fueled slavery" (p. 70)
"Slavery gave America a fear of black people and a taste for violent punishment. Both still define our criminal-justice system" (p. 80)
"How America's Vast Racial Wealth Gap Grew: By Plunder" (p. 82)
The 1619 Project; a New Origin Story (2021)
The 1619 Project was compiled and published in 2021 in book format. The book contains some materials not found in the original New York Magazine publication. Two (2) copies are on reserve in the library and can be used within the library for up to 2 hours at a time.
The 1619 Project; a Visual Experience (2024)
An illustrated edition of The 1619 Project, with newly commissioned artwork and archival images. One (1) copy of this title is on reserve in the library and can be used within the library for up to 2 hours at a time.
The 1619 Project (NYTimes; interactive)
This interactive website provides access to the essays, along with any fictional works and images, that were originally published as part of the 1619 project.
The 1619 Project Full Text (Pulitzer Center)
The Pulitzer Center provides free access to the PDF version of The 1619 Project which appeared in the New York Times Magazine in August 2019.
This 5-episode Podcast series, hosted by Nikole Hannah-Jones explores the "long shadow " of the arrival of 20 enslaved Africans in the English colony of Virginia in 1619.
The 1619 Project Conversation & Performance (NYTimes)
