The 1619 Project: A New Origin Story

Written by Nikole Hannah-Jones and The New York Times Magazine

Narrated by Nikole Hannah-Jones and Full Cast

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • 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.

NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY The Washington Post • NPR • Marie Claire
 
In late August 1619, a ship arrived in the British colony of Virginia bearing a cargo of twenty to thirty people stolen 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.

Cover image: Lorna Simpson Beclouded, 2018 © Lorna Simpson. Courtesy the artist and Hauser & Wirth.

Read by a full cast, including:
Nikole Hannah-Jones, January LaVoy, Claudia Rankine, Nikky Finney, Janina Edwards, Dorothy Roberts, Shayna Small, Terrance Hayes, Khalil Gibran Muhammad, Yusef Komunyakaa, Eve L. Ewing, Karen Chilton, Aaron Goodson, Reginald Dwayne Betts, Erin Miles, Dominic Hoffman, Adenrele Ojo, Matthew Desmond, Tyehimba Jess, Tim Seibles, Jamelle Bouie, Cornelius Eady, Minka Wiltz, Martha S. Jones, Darryl Pinckney, ZZ Packer, Carol Anderson, Tracy K. Smith, Evie Shockley, Bryan Stevenson, William DeMeritt, Jasmine Mans, Trymaine Lee, A. Van Jordan, Yaa Gyasi, Linda Villarosa, Danez Smith, Terry McMillan, Anthea Butler, Rita Dove, Camille T. Dungy, Wesley Morris, Natasha Trethewey, Joshua Bennett, Chanté McCormick, Nafissa Thompson-Spires, Ron Butler, Kevin M. Kruse, Bahni Turpin, Gregory Pardlo, Ibram X. Kendi, JD Jackson, Jason Reynolds, and Sonia Sanchez

• Language: English
• Publisher: Penguin Random House Audio Publishing Group
• Release date: Nov 16, 2021
• ISBN: 9780593452288

Reviews for The 1619 Project

[deslivres5 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I listened to the audiobook version and it was impactful, insightful and heart-wrenching to listen to all of these history lessons weaved together.

[davisfamily-1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I really learned a lot, very eye opening. I appreciated the appendix for further research. Parts of this book were very difficult to read, glad I did.

[kurtwombat · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This staggering work seeks to reset our understanding of slavery and its lingering aftermath—to take our limited view of history and expand it dramatically—like an empty balloon suddenly filled. It does so with a collection of essays that approach our American history and our American present from many different angles—political, economic, geographic, psychological, sociological etc. The essays are bridged by recollections and poetry and short fiction that act as palate cleansers before the plunge into the next demanding chapter. I listened to the 18+ hour audiobook and enjoyed the different voices—especially when the bridges were performed. The spoken narration drew me out of myself and I believe I was more receptive to the information. The bridges reaffirmed what the chapters had to say or prefaced what was to come. The essays themselves vary in quality and impact but as a collection 1619 packs quite a wallop—alternately inspiring outrage and sadness but always inspiring. I understand the desire to add this to school curriculums—and even to create entire courses around it (I think in some form or another it should be in every school until our educational system improves enough to grow beyond it)—but I would encourage close monitoring for younger readers. Some of this material, making up the fabric of our nation, covers the worst of what humanity is capable—horrific brutality the thread of which still runs through today. Indeed much of the impact comes from blending the intimate with the big picture—looking into the eyes of history. I see this book as kind of a solution guide. I knew there was a puzzle and I could see some of the pieces and suspected there were others but I had no idea how many or how they all fit together. If you doubt the need for such a book, take a look at a few of the one star reviews—filled with the kind of negative passion born of ignorance and fear.

[lisamorr · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I started this one in February with the intention of finishing it then for Black History Month; didn't make that deadline so then I thought I could finish it in March for International Day for Elimination of Racial Discrimination, and I still couldn't finish!

I finally finished it in April. It was good, and I learned a lot - however it was a bit uneven, which I think is to be expected with a project like this - different chapters written by different authors. The chapters were organized around different issues like citizenship, self-defense, inheritance. Prior to each chapter there was a short historical snippet and a poem or short fiction piece.

It took me a while to read because there is a lot of painful history here and honestly not a lot of hope for change. I'm glad I read it and I have a lot more reading to do in this area.

[thanesh_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

An important work that should be recommended reading for an American History class. Difficult to read at times but had to absorb and appreciate the lives of those impacted and are still impacted by the history of the USA. Reparations are way overdue to affected individuals.

[witchyrichy · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I finished The 1619 Project and am stunned, for lack of a better word. Nikole Hannah-Jones and her colleagues wove together the stories of Black people past and present through essays, timeline entries, poetry and photographs, showing how racism is part of the fabric that makes America. The language is deliberately provocative; they call plantations forced-labor camps and, indeed, that's what they were. They tie slavery and its accompanying racist narratives to the wealth and health gaps between Whites and Blacks in our country, and they make a good case. I know they came under some criticism but I don't think anyone could quibble with that fundamental truths. They do not apologize for approaching history from a lens of the enslaved and former enslaved. In the end, they call for reparations and make a solid case there as well.

I'm not going to lie: this was not an easy book to read. It's all here from massacres to bombings in more recent memory to the torture, murder and institutionalized rape during the centuries of slavery. I read slowly, partially to absorb it all and partially because it was often overwhelming.

[rivkat_2 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A big, depressing book that focuses each chapter on a country or a few countries near each other and explains what challenges they faced, especially in building democratic institutions out of the rubble that colonial powers left behind. Transitions to self-government were fast, mostly because Africans wanted it that way, but the Europeans took/destroyed stuff on the way out and hadn’t invited participation before that, so the newly “independent” nations were left without the infrastructure of governance. In many cases, they also had to deal with ethnic divisions that had been exploited by the Europeans to hold on to power. Coup after coup, slaughter after slaughter resulted.

[streamsong_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

“Origin stories, function, to a degree, as myths designed to create a shared sense of history and purpose. Nations simplify these narratives in order to unify and glorify, and these origin stories serve to illuminate how a society wants to see itself- and how it doesn’t. The origin story of the United States that we tell ourselves through textbooks and films, monuments and museums, public speeches and public histories, the one that most defines our national identity portrays an intrepid, freedom-loving people who rebelled against an oppressive monarchy, won their independence, tamed the West, advanced an exceptional nation based on the radical ideals of self-governance and equality, and heroically fought a civil war to end slavery and preserve the nation. This mythology has positioned almost exclusively white Americans as the architects and champions of democracy. And because of this, some have believed that white people should disproportionately reap the benefits of this democracy.” P452

This is an anthology of history, challenges, and experiences that black people have lived here in the United States. Each section ends with a bit of poetry.

The history is very disturbing. When I was in school in the 60’s and 70’s these incidents were not discussed. I remember a sentence or two about lynching and the rise of the KKK – and that’s it.

It’s a combination of impossible to put down and very hard to read. I could only read a chapter a day – and then I would have to let it soak it and steel myself to go on to the next

This book has changed forever the way I see American history and blackness in America.

For me, it was a paradigm shift not only for how I see American black history, but realizing that other minorities have not had their stories told either.

I don’t know what to say beyond that. Read it.

[ilovemycat1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Phenomenal book and achievement. Read this chapter by chapter with a library "lunch and learn" over the summer. It's a book that everyone should read, subjects that children should learn and a country, and world that needs to absorb the lessons of our history. It changes your life.

[josephking6602 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Jumped around from topicto topic; tried to cover too much; poetry didn’t add valur for me

[randymorgan-144387 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The 1619 Project is a book that requires the reader to marinate on the topic. It provides ample opportunity for the reader to pause and reflect. The 1619 Project is an opportunity for a candid and painful conversation about race in the United States of America.

What started as a New York Times article developed into a series of articles; then was compiled into a book. Nikole Hanna- Jones composition consists of essays, photo essays, and a collection of poems and fiction to reveal black history. The audiobook is a full cast production and the voice actors were immaculate. I thumbed through the physical book to admire the photos and they were humbling.

[docwood-1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Oh, boy

Boy, was I ignorant. Boy, were we ever lied to! I learned more relevant history here than in any high school or college class.

This book is exhilarating. It will make you cry. It will make you mad! It will make you mad, and it will make you want to take action.

[terran_9 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I wish I had been able to read this book when I was a student. I hope teachers introduce parts of it in their American history classes from now on. It contains such a complete historical picture of racial relations and the treatment of Black Americans in this country since they were first brought as slaves in 1619. There is incredible documentation and research to back up the statistics presented and conclusions that are drawn.

[scottjpearson · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

The tragic death of George Floyd in 2020 prompted a mass reexamination of issues of race in America. Part of that self-review necessitated promoting voices of African-American history into the national narrative. New York Times writer Hannah-Jones compiled this anthology that seeks to unearth and publicize elements of American history long hidden due to tacit shame and injustice. The pieces contained herein make a forceful case that we need a broader, more inclusive understanding of our national story.

This book deserves a reading because of its social influence alone. It has prompted much white backlash, which means that it is having some of its intended impact. It shows very clearly that African American voices have been silenced in the diverse American story for too long. It does so through a series of historical essays, artistic pieces, and a relentless drive for social justice. Like any book that centers on historical injustices, parts are hard to read due to their weightiness but still necessary to read because of their weightiness.

Although I am glad to have read all of the pieces in this collection, I found that some of them are not as broad in perspective as I would have liked. The last essay in particular tries to make the case that the just, moral response is economic reparations for slavery. This essay is almost wholly devoid of an assessment of practicalities. It is all “ought” and no “can.” Calls like this, while capturing the moral high-ground, can sow more racial friction than solve very real problems. I personally favor a more incremental, measured, yet deliberate approach than the author’s.

Nonetheless, these voices need to be heard precisely because they have not been heard by most of us in the past (myself included). They need to be incorporated in the mainstream American story. The goal of inclusive education says that we need to provide black Americans, many of whom are descendants of enslaved people, belonging in national history. Too much quiet shame exists among white Americans – in the former Confederacy and in the rest of the country, too. I’m glad I read this collection and hope many others will read and reflect with me.

[nabeelar_4 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Absolutely terrific book.
Many wonderful essays, beautiful poetry and images interspersed. I learned a lot. Favorite quote:

"...nationalized amnesia can no longer provide the excuse. None of us can be held responsible for the wrongs of our ancestors. But if today we choose not to do the right and necessary thing, that burden we own."

[m.belljackson · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Extraordinary and enlightening saga of African Americans from the first landing in 1619.

[katyefk · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

What a powerful read!!!!! The American history we learned in school was incomplete and inaccurate without the voices of all folks who built our country. This book with its many essays on the very important topics we are working through in our country and the world is a true gift. I am move, enlightened and changed after reading it. Our non-fiction book club chose it and the resulting discussion was very rich and powerful for all of us. It should be included on any and all American history class reading lists.