Page 131 - 1619 Project Curriculum

The 1619 Project is more than a magazine issue. It’s a national conversation that demands
analysis, reflection, and insight from students. The following standards-aligned activities draw
from concepts in the essays, creative texts, photographs, and illustrations to engage students in

creative and challenging ways. For the full text of The 1619 Project as well as reading guides

for the essays and creative works, visit our this resource.
1. Alternate Timelines: Reevaluating U.S. History

In his Editor’s Note, Jake Silverstein writes, “The goal of The 1619 Project, a major initiative

from The New York Times that this issue of the magazine inaugurates, is to reframe U.S. history

by considering what it would mean to regard 1619 as our nation’s birth year. Doing so requires
us to place the consequences of slavery and the contributions of black Americans at the very

center of the story we tell ourselves about who we are as a country.”

Step 1. Individually or in pairs, select one article from The 1619 Project that interests you.

Make sure that you and your classmates are all exploring different texts. While you read the

article, write down any important historical events it mentions and their dates.

Step 2. Choose three important events from the list you made while reading. On a single sheet

of paper, compile the following for each event:
• The date
• A concise statement of the event (i.e. “The 13th Amendment was signed into law.”)

• 1–3 quotes from the article you read that explain the event’s importance
• A photograph that visualizes the event or its impact

Step 3. Come together as a class to create a new timeline of U.S. history. Your timeline should

start with the year 1619; work with your classmates to order the rest of the events you compiled.
Display your timeline along the wall and read your classmates’ additions.

Step 4. Discuss and share. First, discuss the following with your class:

• How does The 1619 Project contribute to and change the history you have been taught?

• What new information did you learn from your reading and your class timeline?
• What surprised you?

Finally, display your timeline in a public place at your school. If possible, organize a school-

wide event to discuss these questions together.
2. Constructing Your Family History: Oral or Imagined History

In Nikole Hannah-Jones’ “The Idea of America,” she describes having to point out the flag of

the country of her ancestors during an in-class assignment. She writes, “Slavery had erased any
connection we had to an African country, and even if we tried to claim the whole continent,

there was no ‘African’ flag.”

Many black Americans face obstacles in tracing genealogy because of the violent uprooting
and dehumanizing record-keeping associated with slavery. The 1619 Project traces how our

national history was formed, but what about your personal history? How might you trace—and

in some cases, imagine—your family history?