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A review by bookishrealm
The 1619 Project: Born on the Water by Nikole Hannah-Jones, Renée Watson
5.0
FFirst, I will be buying a copy of this book for my daughter. Second, I can't see this book not getting nominations for some serious awards like the Caldecott or the Coretta Scott King Award. I received this book for review, but all thoughts are my own.
Honestly, I had no idea that this book was forthcoming until I was scrolling through Eidelweiss and saw the cover then I saw "The 1619 Project" and I knew that it was a title that I was going to want to read. It begins with the main character feeling ashamed that she is unable to complete a school project about family ancestry. Unsurprisingly, like quite a few Black people she only knows her family history to a certain point (like her I only know up to about my great great grandmother). It's then that her grandmother tells her the true origins of her history. What follows next is a poetic and heartbreakingly beautiful exposition about the way in which our ancestors were stripped of everything they knew to be brought to an unfamiliar land. This book reminded me of a pretty popular quote, "People say that slaves were taken from Africa. This is not true. People were taken from Africa and were made into slaves." Our ancestors were robbed of their culture, traditions, their very way of life. Who we are now as Black Americans is the result of our ancestry being born on the water. Different tribes from various parts of the continent of Africa were forced together to form a new life, a way to survive the constant trauma inflicted on them. They chose to keep going and to somehow have hope that one day things would change. I don't know how they did it, but like the main character, I'm living that dream for them and it's something that I don't take likely and it's something that I'll never forget. Each poem in this book is sacred to me because it tells the story of where I come from even if I don't know the specifics. With artwork that is out of this world, rich paintings that evoke such deep emotions, this is easily one of my favorite books of 2021. Although it isn't out yet, I highly recommend that you keep this one on your radar.
Honestly, I had no idea that this book was forthcoming until I was scrolling through Eidelweiss and saw the cover then I saw "The 1619 Project" and I knew that it was a title that I was going to want to read. It begins with the main character feeling ashamed that she is unable to complete a school project about family ancestry. Unsurprisingly, like quite a few Black people she only knows her family history to a certain point (like her I only know up to about my great great grandmother). It's then that her grandmother tells her the true origins of her history. What follows next is a poetic and heartbreakingly beautiful exposition about the way in which our ancestors were stripped of everything they knew to be brought to an unfamiliar land. This book reminded me of a pretty popular quote, "People say that slaves were taken from Africa. This is not true. People were taken from Africa and were made into slaves." Our ancestors were robbed of their culture, traditions, their very way of life. Who we are now as Black Americans is the result of our ancestry being born on the water. Different tribes from various parts of the continent of Africa were forced together to form a new life, a way to survive the constant trauma inflicted on them. They chose to keep going and to somehow have hope that one day things would change. I don't know how they did it, but like the main character, I'm living that dream for them and it's something that I don't take likely and it's something that I'll never forget. Each poem in this book is sacred to me because it tells the story of where I come from even if I don't know the specifics. With artwork that is out of this world, rich paintings that evoke such deep emotions, this is easily one of my favorite books of 2021. Although it isn't out yet, I highly recommend that you keep this one on your radar.