The 1619 Project: Born on the Water

Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist Nikole Hannah-Jones and artivist Nikkolas Smith discuss their lyrical picture book in verse. The 1619 Project: Born on the Water begins with a Black student who receives a family tree school assignment, and she can only trace back three generations. Grandma gathers the family and the student learns not only the history of the enslaved African people, their contributions to the United States and their life, language and land that predates enslavement. The student learns how her people are people that survived. Through storytelling, poetry and breathtaking art readers learn more about the consequences of slavery and the history of the contributions of Black resistance. In this special engagement in partnership with the SFUSD, students and educators alike are invited to listen, be inspired and learn from vital voices in the world today.