Two books based on ‘1619 Project’ coming out in November
Two books based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning “1619 Project” will be released this fall, with contributions from Jesmyn Ward, Jason Reynolds, Ibram X. Kendi and dozens of others authors and journalists.
“The 1619 Project: A New Origin Story” expands upon the New York Times Magazine publication from 2019 that centers the country’s history around slavery and led to a Pulitzer for commentary for the project’s creator, Nikole HannahJones. “Born on the Water” is a volume for young people, based on a student’s family tree assignment, with words by Hannah-Jones and Renee Watson and illustrations by Nikkolas Smith.
Both works were announced by Penguin Random House and will come out Nov. 16.
“When we published ‘The 1619 Project’ in 2019, none of us could have imagined all that it would become,” Hannah-Jones said in a statement. “The historic events that have since taken place in our country have only affirmed the thesis of, and necessity for, a project that grapples with how slavery, oppression and the struggle for Black liberation created the country we live in today.”
The Times Magazine release has been among the most widely read and debated works of journalism in recent years — ecstatically praised by many as a needed reassessment of American history, disputed by such scholars as Gordon Wood and James M. McPherson as unduly harsh in places and rejected entirely by thenPresident Donald Trump and other conservatives.