The 1619 New York Times Magazine Project takes a critical look at the American paradox of freedom and slavery

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"July 4, 1776 is considered by most Americans as the country's birthday," says an introduction on the Times website. "But if we were to tell you that the true date of birth of the country, at the moment when its determining contradictions appeared for the first time, took place at the end of August 1619?"

The project, published online Wednesday and printed Sunday, exposes his thesis: "No aspect of the country that would be formed here was spared by the years of slavery that followed." Through essays, articles of synthesis and literary works, the 1619 project aims to deepen the understanding of American history by readers.

"In the coming days and weeks, we will publish essays demonstrating that almost everything that made America exceptional comes from slavery," says the introduction.

The idea was launched in January by writer Nikole Hannah-Jones, a graduate of African American Studies, who spent her entire career writing about modern racial inequality and segregation, winning a MacArthur Grant, also known as "Engineering Grant" – – for his work in 2017.

Reshape our vision of America

The United States has been based on ideals of individual freedoms and rights, said Hannah-Jones in an interview with MSNBC. But the paradox of these lofty ideals and the reality of slavery create a contradiction of American mythology. It's partly what this special edition aims to confront.

"One of the things I hear all the time is," Well, a lot of countries have practiced slavery. "But these nations are not based on the idea of ​​individual rights and on the fact that we would be the most liberating democracy the world has ever known," she said. "The fact of having to face these two things, that you hold people in perpetual slavery while claiming to be a country based on individual rights, was extremely corrosive to our development.

"And that's really what the magazine is trying to understand, is that you can look through modern society today and see the effects of this need to hide that sin." We want to hide this sin, because we are ashamed of it. "

The project covers all areas, with articles describing the impact of black Americans on issues ranging from democracy and capitalism to music.

"What's a traffic jam in Atlanta has to do with segregation? A lot," it says. Another is titled "The sugar that saturates the American diet has a barbaric history like" white gold "that fueled slavery." They explore the details of American society and highlight the links between slavery and segregation.

On Friday, the Times podcast, The Daily, will begin a limited series titled "1619", audio accompaniment of the magazine's edition. A lesson plan associated with the project is also available online via the Pulitzer Center.
In the meantime, it has not been easy to find a physical copy of the project. Some people on Twitter told how they went to several magazines in search of the magazine. Editor-in-Chief Jake Silverstein tweeted that there may be an additional distribution later in the week.

"We can not deny our past," says Hannah-Jones to criticize

Although the project has been in the works for months, its release comes as the Times finds itself fumbling with its racing cover.

The newspaper has been heavily criticized for the title "Trump Urges Unity Against Racism" after this month's shooting in El Paso and Dayton. Many, including politicians like Beto O 'Rourke and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, have found the title too soft and said it lessened the role of Trump's anti-immigrant rhetoric, especially during the El shooting. Paso.
The newspaper's staff believe that more should be done to hold Trump "strictly responsible", although others have acknowledged the difficulty of denouncing racism without an editorial.
Anyway, a project of this scale is not devoid of criticism, with other politicians like Ted Cruz and Newt Gingrich assimilating this to propaganda.
In an interview with PBS, Hannah-Jones responded by reiterating that each party was the subject of extensive research and was supported by historical evidence, verified by fact checkers having interviewed panels of historians and checking each argument.

"We can not deny our past," she said. "And if you believe that 1776 is important, if you believe that our Constitution still matters, then you must also understand that the legacy of slavery is still important, and you can not choose which parts of it. History we think are important and which ones are not, they are all important and this story that is inclusive and honest – even if it is painful – is the only way to understand our time now and the only way to go from the front. "

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