Nikole Hannah-Jones Is Not Done With 'The 1619 Project'

The Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist has released a photobook with original works from Black artists, including Carrie Mae Weems, Calida Rawles, Vitus Shell and Xaviera Simmons.

Pulitzer Prize-winning writer Nikole Hannah-Jones is inspired by Black people.

“I do have hope in us,” she said during a conversation via Zoom. “We [African Americans] should not be here. We should not have even accomplished all that we have. We serve as inspiration for oppressed people all across the globe.”

The decorated journalist has just released her latest project, “The 1619 Project: A Visual Experience,” a photobook that consists of original essays from “The 1619 Project” and is also brimming with gripping images and visual art that depict Black life, struggle, and most importantly, survival. The book has vivid imagery: archival photos, portraits and 13 original commissioned works by Black artists, including Carrie Mae Weems, Calida Rawles, Vitus Shell and Xaviera Simmons.

Since childhood, Hannah-Jones has understood the transformative power of the written word. But visual art, she said, is different. This art is to be experienced; it is a journey.

Hannah-Jones said that within the American context, art has also played a part in Black erasure, with its failure to represent Black people. In America, art has also created a warped perception of Black communities. For example, popular art of the 19th and 20th centuries, such as greeting cards or advertising labels, perpetuated racist images of Blackface minstrelsy. This damning stereotype of Black people would continue on for centuries. But through its use of visual art by Black artists, “The 1619 Project: A Visual Experience” defies this tale.