Reviews tagging 'Slavery'

The 1619 Project: A New Origin Story by Nikole Hannah-Jones

36 reviews

kurtwombat's review

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad tense slow-paced

5.0

 

This staggering work seeks to reset our understanding of slavery and its lingering aftermath—to take our limited view of history and expand it dramatically—like an empty balloon suddenly filled. It does so with a collection of essays that approach our American history and our American present from many different angles—political, economic, geographic, psychological, sociological etc. The essays are bridged by recollections and poetry and short fiction that act as palate cleansers before the plunge into the next demanding chapter.  I listened to the 18+ hour audiobook and enjoyed the different voices—especially when the bridges were performed. The spoken narration drew me out of myself and I believe I was more receptive to the information. The bridges reaffirmed what the chapters had to say or prefaced what was to come.  The essays themselves vary in quality and impact but as a collection 1619 packs quite a wallop—alternately inspiring outrage and sadness but always inspiring. I understand the desire to add this to school curriculums—and even to create entire courses around it (I think in some form or another it should be in every school until our educational system improves enough to grow beyond it)—but I would encourage close monitoring for younger readers. Some of this material, making up the fabric of our nation, covers the worst of what humanity is capable—horrific  brutality the thread of which still runs through today.  Indeed much of the impact comes from blending the intimate with the big picture—looking into the eyes of history. I see this book as kind of a solution guide. I knew there was a puzzle and I could see some of the pieces and suspected there were others but I had no idea how many or how they all fit together. If you doubt the need for such a book, take a look at a few of the one star reviews—filled with the kind of negative passion born of ignorance and fear. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Deportation, Forced institutionalization, Sexual violence, Violence, Colonisation, Emotional abuse, Gore, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Racial slurs, Rape, Child abuse, Confinement, Police brutality, Blood, Cultural appropriation, Genocide, Murder, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Child death, Death, Death of parent, Body horror, Racism, Slavery, and Torture

A fantastic must read by all Americans. Suggest pre-high schoolers read with parental supervision.

lmfry's review against another edition

challenging emotional informative inspiring reflective sad slow-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence, Racial slurs, Medical trauma, Genocide, Police brutality, Classism, Pandemic/Epidemic, Grief, Cultural appropriation, Trafficking, Slavery, Rape, Racism, Torture, and Murder

Moderate: Death, Drug use, Gaslighting, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Mass/school shootings, Islamophobia, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Addiction, Child abuse, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, and Deportation

alphawolfe13's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective slow-paced

4.0

It is an informative and enlightening book. In my opinion the writing can be a little repetitive to the point I feel like I'm reading previous chapters. I would have preferred a chronological dive into events and how they shaped history over bouncing from topic to topic. Otherwise, I'm excited to use this in my classroom in order to better help students understand the black experience. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Murder, Rape, Bullying, and Slavery

Moderate: Suicide, Cursing, Torture, Racial slurs, and Racism

frawst_disasta_reads's review

challenging dark emotional informative reflective fast-paced

4.25

I did find parts of this book dragged when I already knew something.  While I enjoyed how the book was laud out, I think I found it jarring on occasion.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Racial slurs, and Slavery

Moderate: Hate crime, Death, Gun violence, Murder, Colonisation, Sexual assault, Slavery, Kidnapping, Physical abuse, and Sexual violence

chillinmcvillian's review against another edition

This book was really heavy and effecting me in a way where I felt hopeless. The information is sad and I started wondering, how can we benefit from this information when all odds are against us. I would read again in the future but I wasn’t in the right space to read it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Slavery, Physical abuse, and Domestic abuse

chelscola's review against another edition

challenging emotional informative reflective medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Rape, Sexual violence, Murder, Slavery, Violence, Colonisation, Hate crime, Physical abuse, and Police brutality

mentalish's review against another edition

challenging dark informative sad slow-paced

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexism, Slavery, Racism, Sexual assault, Violence, Torture, Rape, Trafficking, and Racial slurs

tlaynejones's review against another edition

challenging emotional informative reflective sad tense fast-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Slavery, Medical trauma, Medical content, Murder, Religious bigotry, Xenophobia, Colonisation, Kidnapping, Classism, Police brutality, Rape, Genocide, Grief, Gun violence, Hate crime, Racism, Gaslighting, Deportation, Cultural appropriation, Death, Forced institutionalization, Sexual assault, Trafficking, Violence, Sexual violence, and Torture

lindseyhall44's review against another edition

relaxing

5.0

“For generations we have believed in this country with faith it did not deserve. Black people have seen the worst in America yet somehow, we still believe in its best.”- The 1619 project 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Racial slurs, Torture, Slavery, Racism, Medical trauma, Hate crime, Police brutality, Murder, Death, Kidnapping, Vomit, Rape, Trafficking, and War

readandfindout's review against another edition

challenging informative medium-paced

4.5

Style/writing: 4.5 stars
Themes: 4.5 stars
Perspective: 4.5 stars

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Slavery, Racial slurs, Police brutality, Hate crime, Torture, War, Physical abuse, Death, Murder, Colonisation, Violence, Sexual violence, Rape, and Sexual assault