#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER A dramatic expansion of a groundbreaking work of journalism The
1619 Project: A New American Origin Story offers a profoundly revealing vision of the American
past and present. ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR: The Washington Post NPR Esquire Marie
Claire Electric Lit Ms. magazine Kirkus Reviews Booklist In late August 1619 a ship
arrived in the British colony of Virginia bearing a cargo of twenty to thirty enslaved people
from Africa. Their arrival led to the barbaric and unprecedented system of American chattel
slavery that would last for the next 250 years. This is sometimes referred to as the country's
original sin but it is more than that: It is the source of so much that still defines the
United States. The New York Times Magazine 's award-winning "1619 Project" issue reframed our
understanding of American history by placing slavery and its continuing legacy at the center of
our national narrative. This new book substantially expands on that work 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 show how the inheritance of 1619 reaches into every part of contemporary American
society from politics music diet traffic and citizenship to capitalism religion and our
democracy itself. This is a book that speaks directly to our current moment contextualizing
the systems of race and caste within which we operate today. It reveals long-glossed-over
truths around our nation's founding and construction-and the way that the legacy of slavery did
not end with emancipation but continues to shape contemporary American life. Featuring
contributions from: Leslie Alexander Michelle Alexander Carol Anderson Joshua Bennett Reginald
Dwayne Betts Jamelle Bouie Anthea Butler Matthew Desmond Rita Dove Camille Dungy Cornelius Eady
Eve L. Ewing Nikky Finney Vievee Francis Yaa Gyasi Forrest Hamer Terrance Hayes Kimberly Annece
Henderson Jeneen Interlandi Honorée Fanonne Jeffers Barry Jenkins Tyehimba Jess Martha S. Jones
Robert Jones Jr. A. Van Jordan Ibram X. Kendi Eddie Kendricks Yusef Komunyakaa Kevin Kruse
Kiese Laymon Trymaine Lee Jasmine Mans Terry McMillan Tiya Miles Wesley Morris Khalil Gibran
Muhammad Lynn Nottage ZZ Packer Gregory Pardlo Darryl Pinckney Claudia Rankine Jason Reynolds
Dorothy Roberts Sonia Sanchez Tim Seibles Evie Shockley Clint Smith Danez Smith Patricia Smith
Tracy K. Smith Bryan Stevenson Nafissa Thompson-Spires Natasha Trethewey Linda Villarosa Jesmyn
Ward
