The 1619 Project: A New Origin Story builds on The New York Times Magazine’s Pulitzer Prize winning “1619 Project,” which seeks to reframe American history by placing slavery and its continuing legacy at the center of the national narrative. This book substantially expands on the original "1619 Project," 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 argue that the inheritance of 1619 reaches into every part of contemporary American society, from politics, music, diet, traffic, and citizenship to capitalism, religion, and democracy itself. This legacy can be seen in the way we tell stories, the way we teach 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 also the roots of what makes the country unique. A New York Times best seller and named as one of the Best Books of 2021 by multiple sources.
The 1619 Project
