Book Club Discussion Questions and Guide for The 1619 Project by Nikole Hannah-Jones

Book Club Discussion Questions

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Please be aware that this discussion guide will contain spoilers!

Extensive reading guides are available for The 1619 Project. A PDF of the teacher's guide for the book can be found here. Please see The Pulitzer Center website for additional resources. BookBrowse discussion questions are below.

1. What do you think it means to be an American?
2. What is the purpose of history? Who gets to decide what and who is remembered from the past? What are the consequences of those decisions? How has what's deemed history and how history is recorded changed during your lifetime? Has it changed for the better or the worse, in your opinion?
3. Do you feel the United States can come to a place of truth and reconciliation about the history and legacy of slavery, and if so, how? What's standing in the way?
4. What does freedom mean to you? What is democracy? What is citizenship? Do you think these concepts have changed over time?
5. Is there a specific quote that stood out? Why do you think it spoke to you?What new information about slavery's impact on current society did you learn? Did the book change your perspective?
6. What emotional reactions did you have to reading The 1619 Project, and why do you think you felt that way?
7. What chapters, stories or acts that you read about stood out the most to you? Which sections were the hardest for you to read?
8. The authors use creative writing, poetry, and photography throughout The 1619 Project. Why do you suppose they chose to include these different styles? How did their inclusion impact your reading of the book?
9. Think of a time when you had to specify your race or ethnicity. Do you think twice about it? What are your thoughts about the ways in which people are asked/forced to reveal their race or ethnicity?
10. What do you remember about the Black Lives Matter protests in the summer of 2020? What about the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021? Compare and contrast the federal government's response to and media coverage of each event.
11. In Chapter 10: Punishment, Bryan Stevenson writes, "We are at one of those critical moments in American history when we will either double down on romanticizing a false narrative about our violent past or accept that there is something better waiting for us" (p. 282). Where do you think we are as a country—are we doubling down on a false narrative of our past or are we at a place where we accept there is a better path?
12. At the end of Chapter 17: Progress, Ibram X. Kendi writes, "Until Americans replace mythology with history, until Americans unveil and halt the progression of racism, an arc of the American universe will keep bending toward injustice" (p. 440). What are your thoughts, comments, or reactions in response to this quote?"
13. Why do you feel some states have barred public schools and universities from teaching The 1619 Project?
14. For what audience would you recommend this book? Are there other books you would recommend on the same subject?
15. In the book's Preface, Nikole Hannah-Jones writes, "What would it mean to reframe our understanding of U.S. history by considering 1619 as our country's origin point ... How might that reframing change how we understand the unique problems of the nation today ... How would looking at contemporary American life through this lens help us better appreciate the contributions of Black Americans—not only to our culture but also to our democracy itself?" (p. xxii). How would you answer her? Would your opinion have been different before reading the book? In what way?
16. Did the Black Lives Matter movement impact your understanding of racism in American and if so, in what ways? Have you had conversations with friends or relatives about the movement in recent years, and if so, what were those conversations like?
17. In her Preface, Nikole Hannah-Jones states, "If we are a truly great nation, the truth cannot destroy us. On the contrary, facing the truth liberates us to build the society we wish to be" (p. xxxii). Do you agree with her? What would that society look like, and what changes do you think would need to be made to achieve it?

Unless otherwise stated, this discussion guide is reprinted with the permission of One World. Any page references refer to a USA edition of the book, usually the trade paperback version, and may vary in other editions.