Nikole Hannah-Jones: 1619

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“In August of 1619, a ship carrying more than 20 enslaved Africans arrived in the English colony of Virginia. America was not yet America, but this was the moment it began.”

Pulitzer Prize winning investigative journalist Nikole Hannah-Jones has devoted her career to exposing systemic and institutional racism in the United States. Chief among her work is the seminal 1619 Project published in the New York Times Magazine—and now a successful podcast and television series— which holds the year 1619 as an essential touchstone for understanding and interpreting America both historically and in the present.

Why 1619? That was the year when an English ship carrying enslaved Africans and flying the Dutch flag appeared on the horizon of Point Comfort, Virginia. It ushered in the beginning of slavery in what would become the continental U.S., bringing unprecedented anguish and hardship in the generations that followed.

The crux of the project? That no aspect of the country has been untouched by the centuries of slavery that ensued. From the contemporary economy to American popular music, 1619 implores us to radically rethink America as we know it.

And, though celebrated by many, Hannah-Jones’ work has not been without controversy, sparking both academic debate and extremist backlash. Regardless of the perspective taken, projects like 1619 force reckonings with our shared past: often uncomfortable, but always necessary. The John Adams Institute is thrilled to invite Nikole Hannah-Jones to discuss the politics of remembering.

This event is the launch of a new, multiyear project: Charting History, a collaboration between The John Adams Institute, Are We Europe, Lilith  Agency and other partners that re-examines our shared history and heritage. Andrew Makkinga will be moderating the evening and the opening poem is by the Poet Laureate of The Netherlands 2023 Babs Gons.

© James Estrin New York Times NYT

Nikole Hannah-Jones is a staff writer for the New York Times and NYT Magazine. She is the inaugural Knight Chair in Race and Journalism at Howard University School for Communications, where she has also founded the Center for Journalism and Democracy. She was the recipient of a MacArthur Fellowship in 2017 and of the 2020 Pulitzer Prize in commentary.

Foto: Angela-Tellier

The work of spoken-word artist and writer Babs Gons (1971) makes you feel the social involvement and urgency as a reader. Her debut collection Doe Het Toch Maar (2021) was acclaimed. It earned Gons a nomination for the Herman de Conick Prize and the Poetry Debut Prize. With the foundation of Poetry Circle Nowhere, hosting evenings and compiling a collection – aloud – she put spoken word on the map in the Netherlands. Babs is a columnist and writer associated with Het Parool. She is the Poet Laureate of The Netherlands 2023.

Moderator Andrew Makkinga was only 17 when he started to stand out as a young person who was able to convey his perspectives in Het (young) Lower House (VARA) in an eloquent and nuanced way.
Since then he has developed into a versatile presenter and interviewer and has been working for (public) radio and television for 20 years.

In collaboration with: The John Adams institute.