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The 1619 Project Companion: Discussion: Session 1

This guide serves as a companion to discussions of "The 1619 Project," a publication of the New York Times Magazine, which marks the 400th anniversary of the arrival of the first enslaved Africans to Jamestown, Virginia.

Possible Reflection Statements

  • Three historical facts that surprised you.
  • Three quotes that stand out to you.
  • Three questions you have about content in the essay.

Supplemental Materials

Session 1 - Wednesday, November 4, 2020

Welcome and thank you for your interest in participating in the 1619 Project discussion group. Our 4 session series was originally scheduled to meet bi-weekly on Wednesday evenings from 6:30-8:00 pm during the months of November - December.  This is an interactive program so participants were asked to prepare for the discussion by reading the material in advance.  The plan was to structure our discussions using both small and large group sharing formats, while also offering suggested reflection questions to support focused small group discussion.

Kind regards,

Beverly Braxton

Session 1: Tuesday, Nov. 4.   Assigned readings can be found here:

How can we challenge what we’ve learned about our country and, by extension, about ourselves? Use the reflection statements to the left to track new information and ideas you learn about in the two essays, as well as questions that arise.