The-1619-Project

If you’re interested in sharing your opinion on any cultural, political or personal topic, create an account here and check out our how-to post to learn more.____The debut of the New York Times’ 1619 Project has pushed our nation closer to better understanding the impacts of slavery, which has ironically but not surprisingly been whitewashed for the past 400 years. However, there is more to be done in terms of reeducating Americans, especially white Americans, on the historical realities and complexities of slavery and the impact it carries for all of us today.As the Director of the Africana Studies Program at Bryn Mawr College, I’ve made this reeducation a focal point of my teaching to ensure students are able to grasp, at the very least, the three main legacies of slavery: intergenerational trauma, imposed subjugation and the falsehood of the white savior.The first and perhaps most significant legacy of slavery, intergenerational trauma, flourishes due to the spread of disinformation. Our education systems tend to provide students with a truncated version of the actual horrors of slavery, often redacting acts of psychological and physical trauma that still reverberate through Black communities. From the participation in blackface to the slander of the Black Lives Matter movement, these deliberate redactions have widespread implications on race relations today. These conflicts not only exist between the descendants of slaves and slave owners, but also with those descended from European immigrants who arrived after the Emancipation Proclamation. Contrary to popular belief, a lack of familial responsibility does not exempt this group from collective responsibility. Having white skin in America provides you with privilege that has trickled down from the era of slavery and the racist policies that followed. The presumption from many white Americans that Black Americans can simply pull ourselves up by our bootstraps to get ahead is rooted in their own experiences and opportunities that were never afforded to us.This institutionalized amnesia combined with a misunderstanding of privilege has helped to perpetuate ongoing intergenerational trauma linked to slavery. This includes economic inequality, housing and wage discrimination, higher rates of maternal mortality for Black women and water crises in Black communities like Flint, Michigan. The second legacy of slavery, imposed subjugation, continues to deny us full access to power sharing. The use of intimidation tactics and racist stereotypes, as well as brutal rapes and lynching were widespread from slavery up to the 1970s. These acts of violence and discrimination were rarely ever punished and were orchestrated to terrorize us into submission. Today, we’ve seen the impact of this in our criminal justice system. Black Americans are five times more likely to be incarcerated than white Americans and 2.5 times more likely to be killed by police, with little to no consequences for the officers involved — as we’ve seen with Eric Garner, Trayvon Martin and Michael Brown. We’ve also seen power grabs at the ballot box. While Black men were officially given the right to vote in 1870 and Black women in 1920, many Black Americans, especially in the South, weren’t able to exercise this right until 1965, when Martin Luther King Jr. and other civil rights activists forced Congress and President Johnson to pass the Voting Rights Act. However, the evisceration of the Act by the Supreme Court in 2013 and the subsequent attempts at voter suppression and gerrymandering prove that Black Americans are still being denied the right of self-determination. The third and most overlooked legacy of slavery is the falsehood of the white savior. This narrative has downplayed or erased our stories and acts of rebellion and resistance, and perpetuated a myth that white people freed us. When I was a little girl, I often wondered why the slaves were so passive in the face of their oppression, seeming to wait to be set free by the white abolitionists. During my 40 years of teaching, I have tried to impart to my students that the major abolitionists were the slaves themselves.In modern times, the idea of a white savior has been used to promote or defend gentrification and cultural appropriation. Corporations and wealthy funders have poured money into historic Black communities under the guise of rebuilding infrastructure and improving quality of life. However, the reality is increasing rent and housing prices, the closure of local businesses and the forcing out of native residents in favor of more affluent white renters or owners.There has never been a time when many of us have felt fundamentally safe as full citizens whose contributions to the spiritual and material creation of America are treated as foundational ingredients of that history. However, perhaps one of the proudest legacies of slavery has been this: despite reversals and setbacks, we have learned from our slave ancestors the invaluable lesson that we have an invincible and indomitable spirit. This spirit will continue to live in our communities, but it also deserves to live on in our classrooms.____Linda-Susan Beard is an Associate Professor of English and Director of Africana Studies at Bryn Mawr Mawr College. She negotiates between and among the worlds of African American, South African, and post-colonial literatures. She teaches courses on post-apartheid literature, literary and historical reimaginings of transatlantic slavery such as "Toni Morrison and the Art of Narrative Conjure," as well as introductory courses in English and African literatures which examine the dynamics of canon...

Written by Kelley Fanto Deetz, University of Virginia____Four hundred years after the event, the New York Times has published a special project focusing on the first Africans arriving in 1619 at Point Comfort, Virginia, and the legacy of slavery in the U.S.“No aspect of the country that would be formed here has been untouched by the years of slavery that followed,” the introduction said.While there has been much praise for the project’s recasting of American history, it has been given a chilly reception by others. These critics, including former top GOP legislator Newt Gingrich, attempt to dismiss the significance of the “20 and odd” Africans who arrived in 1619 and the 12.5 million other African people who were sold into the transatlantic slave trade.“The whole project is a lie,” Gingrich said.Statements such as one in an article by Joshua Lawson – “By A.D. 1619, slavery had existed for more than 5,000 years, dating back at least to Mesopotamia” – are akin to the recurring social media mantra over recent years that America shouldn’t be blamed, it didn’t invent slavery, and that it’s been around forever.Screenshot of John Birch Society tweet from Nov. 3, 2016. TwitterSimilarly, social media comments often expresses ideas like: “Who captured them and sold them into slavery in the first place? It was their own people, black people.”These arguments may sound reasonable because they have a sliver of truth. But as a historian of the African diaspora, I know these characterizations oversimplify the complex history of the slave trade and discourage important conversations about, and an understanding of, American history.Selling the enemyFirst, Africa was not, and is not, a country. Long before the Portuguese made their way to Angola in 1483, to start what became the transatlantic slave trade, African kingdoms, queendoms and empires had long occupied and ruled different parts of the continent, which is close to 12 million square miles.These centuries-old civilizations were ethnically, linguistically and religiously diverse. Wars were common, as in every other continent, and the people sold to European traders beginning in the 1490s were mostly prisoners of war, not allies.It is true that slavery has been around for thousands of years. But the chorus of social media commentary tries to remove any blame from the country’s forefathers for the American version of the institution and its devastating consequences.They are correct in their statement that slavery has been around for millennia, and that America did not invent it. But it lacks context and substance that is critical to understanding our nation’s history.Race-based slaveryMoreover, African traders were not aware of the distinct form of slavery that was to develop in the colonies – one that wed skin color to class in ways never seen before, as it became a distinct product of the trade. That form was drastically different from the African “Old World” models.Old World slavery was characterized by a more fluid status. The enslaved could own property and legally marry, and their children were not automatically enslaved. Slaves were often criminals, or victims of religious wars. More specifically, slavery in Africa was not a life term, nor was it inherited. The Old World models were more like an indenture, where there was a term of labor to be paid, and then freedom would be granted.This was nothing like the race-based chattel slavery that grew with the transatlantic trade, which guaranteed a lifetime term and the further enslavement of one’s children.Almost the entire 12.5 million captured Africans were brought to the Americas as enslaved, not indentured people. Although there are a few exceptions, those few are not representative. European criminals and poor people often held indentured status, and most migrated to the Americas by choice. Those first “20 and odd” Africans were captives, and did not choose their destiny. These are some of the striking differences between European and African laborers.The legacy of race-based chattel slavery produced distinct trauma over many generations. Its history and legacy of sustained inequality is exceptional.Race was invented by European colonists to provide an excuse for the systematic oppression of African-descendant people. Race was used to categorize different groups of people based on skin color, and to stratify the different groups into distinct class structures.The millions of enslaved men, women and children were sold into a land where their skin color became a brand that kept them, and all of their children, enslaved for generations.“New World” slavery reflected nothing of Old World slavery, and everything of the racial caste system that took hold in the colonies, all in the effort to build both capitalism and colony.Taking blame from the buyer of slaves, and placing it on the seller, distorts history. Similarly, the history and legacy of Old World slavery and race-based chattel slavery are not parallel.The United States of America was built on grand ideas of freedom, equality and justice for all. It was also built mostly from the unpaid labor of enslaved African and African American people.____[ Deep knowledge, daily. Sign up for The Conversation’s newsletter. ]Kelley Fanto Deetz, Lecturer in American Studies, University of VirginiaThis article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original...

2019 marks 400 years since the first people of African descent were brought to this country, spurring the atrocity of American slavery. Last Sunday, the New York Times Magazine released a powerful issue titled “The 1619 Project” that delves deep into America’s origin as a nation built on slavery. Led by the New York Times Magazine reporter Nikole Hannah Jones, the special edition issue features contributions from a range of Black scholars, journalists, writers and artists. According to Jones, “The 1619 Project” examines the enduring story of Black people in America and reframes “the way we understand our nation, the legacy of slavery, and most importantly, the unparalleled role Black people have played in this democracy.” During an event to debut the project, Jones said, "This project is, above all, an attempt to set the record straight. To finally, in this 400th year, tell the truth about who we are as a people and who we are as a nation." In a radical stand, the New York Times reporter also posited in the issue's opening essay: "What if America understood, finally, in this 400th year, that we have never been the problem but the solution?"Over the past week, many have searched through countless newsstands, cafes and bookstores to grab a copy of the magazine; while some have narrowly succeeded, others have come up short on their hunt for the powerful piece. Went to about 5 stores today looking for the @NYTmag in print, so I could read the #1619Project. A few places told me they sold out in two hours. Glad so many rushed to the newsstands but also disappointed I can't read a hard copy. 😢— Chandra Reyna (@chandravreyna) August 19, 2019 If you’re unable to find a print copy of the @nytimes with the #1619Project tomorrow, let us know. We’re doing our best to prepare for increased interest in this edition, have printed extra copies, etc. May have info to share abt bonus distribution in weeks ahead https://t.co/Td8a7mgGgr— Jake Silverstein (@jakesilverstein) August 17, 2019The revelatory coverage of America’s history rattled the cages of conservatives who have pushed back against the New York Times project. According to ThinkProgress, pundits like Byron York, believe the perspective of Black people building the nation’s cultural heritage is extremely skewed. Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich even took to Twitter to call the project “propaganda.” Trump lambasted the project and the New York Times for participating in a "racism witch hunt." Debates have since raged on as critics rally against its examination of America’s core issue with race and supporters stand by its thoughtful and intentional content during this pivotal yet painful commemorative year. Teachers: make #1619Project your next unit plan. Managers: make #1619Project your next team retreat pre-work. Pastors: make #1619Project your next sermon. Parents: make #1619project your next dinner table conversation. True history. Finally. Thank you forever, @nhannahjones.— Brittany Packnett (@MsPackyetti) August 19, 2019Baaaaabay. The #1619project got people out here going from store to store trying to find the NYT like it’s the 2019 Tickle Me Elmo!— Charlene Carruthers (@CharleneCac) August 19, 2019 While physical copies may be limited, The 1619 Project is also featured on the New York Times Magazine website. ...