The 1619 Project: A New Origin Story

The book is loosely organized historically with each vignette and poem serving as a timeline marker for two opposing efforts: acts of resistance against racial injustice and the continued work of white supremacists to limit the freedoms of Black Americans. These final chapters continue to show Slavery’s Pervasive Impact on American Institutions.

Chapter 15 carries on the work of Linda Villarosa’s work on medicine in Chapter 12 by expanding on the Affordable Care Act and the backlash that the program faced, along with its ardent support by President Barack Obama. Interlandi explains that 12 states refused to participate in ACA’s expansion of Medicaid. This refusal mirrors Calhoun’s early ideology of nullification—the idea that states have the right to ignore federal laws they deem unconstitutional. Republican lawmakers sought to restrict the scope of ACA and withhold resources to low-income families. Furthermore, attempts to undermine Barack Obama, such as President Trump’s repeated assertion that Obama’s citizenship is illegitimate, echo early racist sentiments forged during slavery. These examples, therefore, collectively unpack Slavery’s Pervasive Impact on American Institutions by tying it to the strategy, tactics, and rhetoric wielded by actors in the modern-day political arena.

Furthermore, by circling back repeatedly to the topic of medical care but at different historical moments (e.g., the Tuskegee Study of Untreated Syphilis, the Affordable Care Act, and the COVID-19 pandemic), the book underscores the idea that these injustices have cropped up again and again over the course of American history and will continue to do so unless they are meaningfully addressed.

In Chapter 18, Kendi offers a more forward-looking reflection than other pieces in the book, although he still adheres to the historical focus of the text. He meticulously outlines the ways in which the doctrines and ideals created by American slavery have spurred racial injustice throughout history and will continue to do. Kendi argues that any move toward progress will always be met with an even greater move to remove the rights of citizenship and advancement: “Saying that the nation has progressed racially is usually a statement of ideology, one that has been used all too often to obscure the opposite reality of racist progress” (425). He argues that the narrative of the United States as one moving toward progress is utilized to draw attention away from its many injustices. Rather than focusing on advances that have been made, Kendi suggests continuing to explore spaces of advocacy and activism with a diligent watchfulness. This chapter therefore offers a novel perspective in the closing pages of the book on the purpose and importance of the text, since it constitutes a concrete instance of exactly the kind of exploration and reflection that Kendi calls for in the chapter.

However, the book also suggests that, even if progress is not made in the way that the American mythology insists it is, this does not mean efforts to dismantle racial injustice are in vain. One vignette describes presidential candidate Shirley Chisholm visiting her opponent in the hospital. George Wallace was known for his racist ideologies and for staunchly promoting segregation. His slogan is included in the poem “Unbought, Unbossed, Unbothered” by Nafissa Thompson-Spires: “Segregation Now, Segregation Tomorrow, and Segregation Forever” (397). At first, the speaker of the poem is disappointed in Chisholm, who later lost the election to Richard Nixon. However, Black Resistance as a Persistent Force Against Racial Injustice is not predicated on the belief that all resistance must be victorious to be meaningful. The speaker realizes that Chisholm was casting a distinction between herself and her racist opponent. Although she did not win the election, Chisholm showed the world what graciousness and kindness in the face of adversity could look like. Here, as elsewhere, the book channels its exploration of Black resistance through the text’s poems, which underscores the aspirational nature of this resistance while simultaneously tying it to the long and enduring history of Black resistance in the US.

In this vein, many of the resisters and activists detailed in the work are not victorious. Often, their stories end in financial ruin or worse. Rosa Parks struggled financially for the rest of her life after she became a central figure of the Civil Rights Movement. Both Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr. were assassinated, as were many other civil rights activists. An understanding of what it means to resist thus emerges from the text. It is not about pursuing personal gain or fame nor is resistance tied to success. Instead, it is about doing something—continuing to fight even when it seems like the fight can never be won.

Finally, the book suggests that this fighting spirit, developed and fine-tuned by Black citizens, represents part of The Role of Black Americans in Shaping National Identity: “Though we are seldom taught this fact, time after time throughout our history, the most ardent, courageous, and consistent freedom fights within this country have been Black Americans” (453). After enduring unfathomable horrors during slavery, newly emancipated citizens fought for a new life, hopeful that they could render something beautiful from something horrific. They were thwarted at every turn, but they continued to fight for one another, seeking restitution, medical care, and space to live.

Hannah-Jones argues in Chapter 1 that Black Americans have guaranteed America’s position as a democracy and that they continue to refine and perfect this position through diligent and purposeful activism. In its closing, the book’s message is that, while slavery’s lasting impacts on the United States are evident in the forms of white supremacy, oppression, and racial injustice, the lasting impact of Black Americans on the national identity is the tenacity and resolve of an American spirit—one that will go to any lengths to secure freedom and justice.