Page 148 - 1619 Project Curriculum

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Reading Guide for ​The 1619 Project​ Creative Works

The 1619 Project​ includes 17 creative texts that explore major events in U.S. history. As students
explore the pieces, have them consider the following questions:

1) What words and phrases stand out, and why?
2) What emotional reactions do you have, and why?
3) How do the authors use creative writing to address historical events?
4) How do the authors use form and language to communicate a point of view?
5) What new information do you learn about the lasting impact of slavery through the
stories and poems featured in ​The 1619 Project​?
6) Why do you think ​The New York Times​ included creative writing in ​The 1619 Project​?
How do the featured stories and poems connect to other essays, photography, and
artwork highlighted in the issue?

Medium | Author | Page Historical Event Referenced

Poem | Clint Smith | 28 The Middle Passage

Poem | Yusef Komunyakaa | 29 Crispus Attucks

Poem | Eve L. Ewing | 42 Phillis Wheatley

Poem | Reginald Dwayne Betts | 43 Fugitive Slave Act of 1793

Fiction | Barry Jenkins | 46 Gabriel’s Rebellion

Fiction | Jesmyn Ward | 47 The Act Prohibiting Importation of Slaves

Poem | Tyehimba Jess | 58 Black Seminoles

Fiction | Darryl Pinckney | 59 Emancipation Proclamation of 1863

Fiction | ZZ Packer | 59 New Orleans massacre of 1866

Short Fiction | Yaa Gyasi | 68 Tuskegee syphilis experiment

Short Fiction | Jacqueline Woodson | 69 Sgt. Isaac Woodard

These materials were created to support ​The 1619 Project​, published in ​The New York Times Magazine​ August
2019. You can find this and more educational resources at ​www.pulitzercenter.org/1619