The 1619 Project

A New Origin Story

By: Nikole Hannah-Jones, The New York Times Magazine, Caitlin Roper - editor, Ilena Silverman - editor, Jake Silverstein - editor

Narrated by: Nikole Hannah-Jones, 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

Wonderful summary of the African American experience

If you’re curious about our country’s many inequalities, this is a great summary of how we arrived at our current predicament. This is a semester’s worth of intro into Black American history packaged in 19 hours of riveting storytelling. It is a story for all Americans to hear because the legacy of these policies truly affect all of us today, regardless of your origin or ethnicity.

I’m Never to Old to Learn

I absolutely loved this book. It opened my eyes to information I did not know. I went back to history class and learn the truth about our history. I have and will recommend this book to all of my family and friends. Thank you for the enlightenment and lesson.

Historically Accurate FACTS!

If you were taught history in the U.S. and especially in a public school, it is without question or speculation, that you missed out on an immense amount of information that actually shaped who we are as a country and a people today. This sheds a blinding spotlight on many of our shameful and traumatizing practices and how they informed other events and thinking around the world. It also reflects the hope and determination that is also woven into the fabric of all of America’s people.

This should be a required reading for every high school and college student. And every adult that needs to catch up!

Don’t wait for anyone or any government body to acknowledge and require it…require it of yourselves in the pursuit of higher learning and, prayerfully, an awareness that will avoid the mistakes of the past being repeated and awaken the consciousness that we are HUMAN first.

I learned even more than I expected

The collection of essays woven together, and each chapter individually, presents a compelling case for why the racial status quo looks like it does. It marshals an incredible amount of history to tell the story of the United States in an original way that I have not heard enough. I learned even more than I anticipated.

A must read

A must read for every American and every believer in the greatness of America. Only by knowledge of our true history and present can we find the courage to take action that will lead us to realizing our full potential.