A review by alysses
The 1619 Project: Born on the Water by Nikole Hannah-Jones, Renée Watson

5.0

As descendants of enslaved people, we are constantly reminded of how we don't have a history passed a certain period in time. It's an incredibly hard journey piecing together that part of you that sits in the void but sits strong and constantly calling to you.

This story is of a little girl who goes home to her grandmother and states that she doesn't have a history to tell. Her grandmother states that she does and begins weaving a verbal tapestry of their origins. She tells her granddaughter about the how their people were taken from Africa, stripped of home, culture and religion; taken to a foreign land and enslaved. Enslavement is ugly but the people, her people were wonderful, resilient, warriors at heart and soul and built a whole nation on their backs.

The artwork was beautiful and the sentiments expressed were empowering and heartbreaking.

We must always remember: We come from wonderful, resilient, intelligent, resourceful warriors. Push forward.