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1619: 400 Years of History

This guide begins with the date in 1619 that brought a ship carrying enslaved Africans to Point Comfort, near present-day Jamestown, Virginia, and continues through 400 years of African American history.

New York Times 1619 Project

Official description from the New York Times: 
The 1619 Project is a major initiative from The New York Times observing the 400th anniversary of the beginning of American slavery. It aims to reframe the country’s history, understanding 1619 as our true founding, and placing the consequences of slavery and the contributions of black Americans at the very center of the story we tell ourselves about who we are.

1619 Primary Sources

Historic Jamestowne and the First Africans

Articles and Opinion Pieces about Marking 1619

1619 Landing

Dutch man-of-war with enslaved people landing at Jamestown, 1619

Appeared in Harper's Weekly in 1901, probably a copy from an earlier painting. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division.