An American Citizen’s Guide to The 1619 Project with Dr. Richard Bell
The 1619 Project is an ongoing initiative from The New York Times Magazine that began in August 2019, the 400th anniversary of the beginning of American slavery. It aims to reframe the country’s history by placing the consequences of slavery and the contributions of black Americans at the very center of our national narrative.
While The 1619 Project has aroused controversy, this program will focus on the facts and the evidence, leaving participants well equipped to make up their own minds.
Dr. Richard Bell is Professor of History at the University of Maryland. He holds a PhD from Harvard University and has won more than a dozen teaching awards, including the University System of Maryland Board of Regents Faculty Award for Excellence in Teaching. He has held major research fellowships at Yale, Cambridge, the Library of Congress and is the recipient of the Andrew Carnegie Fellowship and the National Endowment of the Humanities Public Scholar Award. Professor Bell is author of the new book "Stolen: Five Free Boys Kidnapped into Slavery and their Astonishing Odyssey Home," which was shortlisted for the George Washington Prize and the Harriet Tubman Prize.
This conversation is suitable for all ages.
90 minutes, including a 30 minute Q&A.
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I applaud the bold argument the 1619 Project is making to center the significance and practice of racial slavery to the growth of the American project and the ongoing struggle for full democracy.
I applaud Professor Bell’s nuanced presentation of the Project’s scope and the controversies it has engendered. This is my fourth seminar and/ or course I have taken with him at the helm, and he is a fully engaging, witty, compassionate and learned teacher. Professor Bell enlivens his subject matter.
My key takeaway for this seminar is that one critical success of the Project is that it spark citizen’s and civic conversations. It’s content is too important to ignore, and I think Professor Bell’s seminar is one step in that direction, to encourage further engagement with and interrogation of the Project’s key learnings. Highly recommend!!
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Dr. Bell does a great job of explaining 1619--why it's important, the responses it received. I was fascinated by the discussion of the letter the historian wrote to critique the 1619 article.
Dr. Bell's research and expert presentation style makes him a standout. Thoughtful and attendant to his audience- he covers historical topics in a way that makes me want to know more - a lot more!