‘1619’ PROJECT REVIEWS LASTING IMPACTS OF SLAVERY

An ambitious recent undertaking by the New York Times Magazine is determined to set a new founding date for the United States – shifting it from Independence Day, July 4, 1776, to Aug. 20, 1619 – the first day that African slaves were brought to British colonies in North America.

Dubbed “The 1619 Project,” the effort is a collaboration between journalists, scholars, and historians who aim to view African Americans as central figures in American history and wish to highlight the often overlooked legacies of slavery and how they pervade nearly every facet of the modern American experience.

The scope of the project is broad. The various essays, weaved together by striking images and poetry, cover a wide array of ideas. Some focus on subjects like how old patterns in the politics of racial discrimination are repeating themselves in 2019, or first-hand looks into America’s deeply prejudiced criminal justice/penal system. Others look at the historical plunder of black wealth and the rise of the continuing racial wealth gap. One essay even sheds light on how the ubiquity of entrenched segregation continues to contribute to something as mundane as poor traffic conditions.

Among the more interesting writings is the essay titled, “Why Doesn’t the United States Have Universal Health Care? The Answer Has Everything to do With Race,” by Jeneen Interlandi. The essay traces the history of how race has been intertwined with healthcare in the U.S., from the very first federally mandated health program, set up in the aftermath of the Civil War, forward to the great healthcare debates of the 1950s, and through to the passage of the ACA in 2010.

That article demonstrates how, through a blend of ambivalence from the federal government and outright racial animus at the state level, African Americans were made to bear the brunt of smallpox epidemics in the 19th century, and were pushed out of New Deal and other seemingly progressive reforms throughout the 20th century.

However, as the article points out, African Americans have also been actively responsible for providing the some of the biggest movements in healthcare reform. Black-led groups such as the National Medical Association popularized the idea of universal healthcare for all U.S. citizens, and later the idea that healthcare should be viewed as a basic human right.

The 1619 Project is the brainchild of renowned New York Times investigative reporter Nikole Hannah-Jones, who pitched the idea back in January of devoting an entire 96-page issue of the weekly NYT magazine to commemorate the 400th anniversary of the first African slaves’ arrival.

Months after its initial release to broad critical acclaim, the project continues to grow: Not only were hundreds of thousands of extra copies printed and given away for free in some areas, but the project remains free to view online, and also has developed a podcast following select stories.

However, the provocative effort hasn’t come without backlash. Many conservative (and, perhaps unsurprisingly, mostly white) voices have spoken out against the project, saying that it provides a distorted and revisionist view meant to serve the narrative of today’s “woke,” self-loathing, liberal elite who rarely miss an opportunity to bash the founders of the country.

The project and its authors have taken these arguments in stride. When confronted with such charges during a recent television interview, Hannah-Jones responded, “This isn’t saying that [America] is a country that needs to be destroyed. This is not saying that this is a country that’s illegitimate.

“It’s saying that this is a country founded on ideals that were not true at the time, but that black Americans believed in those ideals and have worked to make those ideals true for all groups,” she said. “I don’t see what is more patriotic than that.”

That the project has been seen by some as contentious is reflective of what the project views as a serious need for diversity to play a larger part in the way American history is discussed. Explicit in the magazine is the need to provide black writers and experts with a larger platform. As one of the opening lines in the project states, it is time for African Americans to “finally tell our story”.

If you want to find out more about The 1619 Project, it is available for free online at nytimes.com