Renée Watson

Nikole Hannah-Jones

Stymied by her unfinished family tree assignment for school, a young girl seeks Grandma's counsel and learns about her ancestors, the consequences of slavery, and the history of Black resistance in the United States.

The 1619 Project: Born on the Water

renee badenoch

I first picked this book up because I loved the 1619 project, and understand the importance of going back to the earliest parts of American history and telling it from the voices of the black people who were there. I loved how this book was both unflinching at the horror and trauma of slavery, while honoring the ingenuity, creativity, resilience, community, and even joy of enslaved black Americans. I also loved the way the book traced back the history of black Americans to West African civilizations. I'm ashamed to admit it, but this book was the first time I'd learned about the Kingdom of Ndongo. 

Their story did not begin 
with whips and chains. 

They had a home, a place, a land, 
a beginning. 

Their story is our story. 
Before they were
enslaved, they were
free.  

Nikkolas Smith´s illustrations are impressionistic and loose, giving a sense to me as if they are actively in the act of unburying and rewriting a history that has been purposefully obfuscated. I love the way that details blur into the background, while faces remain sharp, pointed, and clear.

The 1619 Project: Born on the Water

Reviews