In this expansion of Hannah-Jones' reporting for the New York Times Magazine, slavery and its continuing legacy are placed at the center of our national narrative. Hannah-Jones' telling of US history chips away at the glossy American myths most adults in our nation grew up with, offering instead grounding truths: the legacy of slavery did not end with emancipation, but continues to shape contemporary American life, with Black Americans leading the charge as defenders of our democracy and all that it claims to be. Like Richard Rothstein's The Color of Law: A Forgotten History of How Our Government Segregated America, Hannah-Jones offers explanations for how our country's systems, both big and small, were built on racist foundations and continue to perpetuate harm. The 1619 Project is sweeping, comprehensive, and most importantly: galvanizing.
