The Idea of America: The 1619 Project

 by Faye Rustell

(Nikole Hannah Jones (image: Sarah E. Freeman) 

'Hamilton' is one of my all time favourite musicals. If you have watched it then you would understand why. I first watched it back in lockdown last year after it came out on Amazon Prime due to many theatres being closed. I was stunned. At first, I was absolutely captivated by the music, costumes, set design, the use of the rotating stage floor, the vastness and diversity of the cast, but reflecting on second glance (three viewings later), what impressed me above all was how Lin-Manuel Miranda managed to incorporate vibrancy and sheer enjoyment into the story of the the foundation of America.

Admittedly, before watching the show, my knowledge of the founding fathers of America was sparse, but somehow afterwards I was able to walk away understanding the legacy of the likes of Hamilton, Jefferson, the Schuyler Sisters and the American Revolution as a whole.

As an A level History student, part of my course involves Late Modern History with a heavy influence on the American Revolution, and it soon became apparent that the musical and the story of Alexander Hamilton ties in incredibly well. Upon my first lesson, one of my tasks was to read an article written by Nikole Hannah Jones, an American investigative journalist, who discusses her aims to reframe the country's history by placing the consequences of slavery and the contributions of Black Americans at the very centre of the national narrative. After reading her work, I was surprised at the impact it had on me. It encouraged me to re-evaluate the traditional story of the creation of America and the reliability of the fathers that created the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence.

Nikole Hannah Jones is the creator of the '1619 project', a long form of journalism which essentially aims to realign the country's history by placing emphasis on the consequences of slavery and the contributions of Black Americans which have sparked various democratic movements throughout decades. Hannah Jones was born in Iowa to her African-American father and her Czech mother. Throughout the extract of the article Jones talks about how she grew up in a very traditional American home with a flag hung in the front yard and replaced by her father as soon as it appeared worn or discoloured. Throughout her youth, Jones failed to understand her father's patriotism as he knew the way his country abused black Americans, yet he appeared proud to fly the banner in their garden. Even in their home state, racial discrimination was prevalent, Blacks and Whites were segregated by the Iowa river and as a young girl she was taught in school that the flag didn't belong to them, their history began with enslavement and they had contributed little to the American history.

For years, Jones was educated into believing that the closest Black Americans could have to cultural pride was the vague connection with Africa, somewhere she had never been and she struggled to understand how she could be connected with this foreign place. Later on in her life, Jones realised that her father knew that the citizens contributions to building the richest and most powerful nation in the world were indelible:12.5 million Africans were part of the forced migration into slavery and a huge majority of them were involved in the physical development of America. They laid the foundations of the White House and the Capitol and ironically placed the Statue of Freedom on top of the Capitol as well as building the plantations of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson and James Madison which now attract thousands of tourists.

Reflecting upon this after reading it, I felt myself immensely shocked at the real contribution Black African Americans had in this country. I also felt embarrassed of myself, and guilty for the fact that I had built this completely wrong stereotype up in my head which was simply not true. I thought of them purely as slaves and farmers and cotton pickers but in reality they are so much more than that. Jones' articles proves that Black Americans should not be reduced to their historical significance of slavery in the USA but they should also be remembered for the fact that they represent a huge symbol of freedom and freedom especially in America. As I read on, I began to feel appalled by the way that these 'founding fathers' of America led their lives based upon contradictions. The Declaration of Independence, created by Jefferson, Franklin etc, states that 'all men are created equal'; however the white men who created those words, did not share the same views for black Americans, applying to one fifth of the country. Jefferson enslaved over 600 human beings over the course of his life across various properties he owned, whilst at the same time, hypocritically publicly speaking out against the international slave trade and eventually outlawing it whilst president. The buying and selling of these humans led to enormous wealth for certain individuals, at one time the second richest man in the nation was a Rhode Island slave trader and Jones actually believed that it was the 'relentless' insuring and trading of their bodies and labor which enabled Wall Street to become a thriving banking and trading sector.

Reflecting back upon the slave trading movement that occurred in this nation over 300 years ago, it is easy to become absorbed into the single story of what the majority of people understand the Black American history as. But I think it is incredibly important that we don't limit ourselves to a single story or a single version of events, because when we do that, the result is this. Becoming shocked at the truth. I fully agree with Jones' message throughout her article, the fact that America was not created by the founding fathers of the nation but by Black Americans themselves. They created democracy in America, the fight for Black rights paved the way and sparked various movements for other minorities, immigrants, women, gays etc. The confidence and persistence in their fighting influenced thousands if not millions of other Americans to stand up for their beliefs. Jones believed that her father actually used the flag in a different way than she intended, that he proved the American flag actually belonged more to Black Americans than the founding fathers. The year 1619 marked the beginning of the slave trade in America, however it also marked the start of a movement that would initiate many others and change America and its political history forever. "No people have a greater claim to that flag than us."