The 1619 project Extra credit assignment

The 1619 project brought so much to light that I didn’t know before about racism. As an African American myself I am well aware of the racism epidemic in America. I remember just waiting at the bus stop with my mom and the Bronx with a few other black people and this white guy came up towards us and kept spitting at us and saying I spit on black people. Thankfully they were some really good white folks to help us out and hold the guy until the police arrived. When I watched the 1619 project it pointed out how the blood of African Americans runs through the Nation. African Americans are the ones that were the ones that built America. They’re hard work on the plantations that help make America one of if not the richest country in America. What really surprised me was that former President Abraham Lincoln tried to convince black people to leave America if he emancipated them. I was even prouder to hear how the 5 black people in the church at that meeting stood their ground and would not let Lincoln run them out of America. As quoted “ We came over here with y’all and we will stay here with y’all.(The 1619 Project) This reminds me of the book “Citizen” by Claudia Rankine. Rankine talks about her experience being African American.  Funny how the book called “Citizen” was written years after Lincoln asked black people to leave. Nickole Hannah-Jones, one of the writers of the 1619 project mentioned how since she was in her 40s  she was among one of the first black people ever to be born with citizenship in America. It’s sad that even today people don’t make an effort to know about black history.  In fact they wanted to stop the 1619 project from being taught in schools and have it banned in Texas and Florida. In Citizen there were two men who talked about black people as if they were aliens,  “You hear one say to the other that being around black people is like watching a foreign film without translation” (Ranking, 50). It’s upsetting that 50 some years later black people are still trying to belong in a country that obviously doesn’t want them. They are still fighting for their lives against white supremacy, and still experience voting inequality. I really loved that Hannah-Jones and the other amazing writers had the courage to write this show and bring it to life. To shed a light on our history and the shortcomings of this Nation.