There’s a saying that history is written by the victors, or in some cases the winners. While that can be true, it actually goes way beyond that. History is recorded by those in power. Just as the American Revolution is studied differently if you learn about it in the United States versus the United Kingdom, so can history be recorded from many different perspectives.

What does Doctor Who have to do with the much-maligned 1619 Project? Exactly what they say. Our history has been presented to us in the United States from the perspective of white people. It’s created heroes of those who came here from Europe and slaughtered the Native population, beginning with Columbus and continuing through our “conquest” of the West. The history of the United States would look very different if you wrote it from the perspective of Native Americans.

The same is true of African-Americans. In 1619, the first Africans were brought to this country as slaves. Their history on this continent is often treated as a footnote, rather than something to be studied. Through extensive research, The 1619 Project details the contributions African Americans made to our history, both willingly and unwillingly.

In 2019, the New York Times first published The 1619 Project which was an extensive reframing of the history of the United States by a variety of authors. These essays were compiled together to create The 1619 Project. The audiobook (and subsequent published books) has expanded on those essays to give even more depth to history that has been “whitewashed.”

The essays are well written and researched, then presented with earnestness as to why it’s important to consider this viewpoint. This is what is frightening to so many racists out there. It’s not a case of rewriting history, it’s a case of presenting a more complete and real history rather than what comes close to being a fairy tale in many U.S. textbooks. Learning the truth over the fiction is scary for people who possibly have some skeletons in their family history. It’s a bitter pill to swallow that the very people they hate because of the color of their skin might have contributed as much, if not more, to the history of the country.

There is a large cast of narrators here reading the essays. This helps distinguish the topics, although many overlap. The 1619 Project is structured somewhat chronologically but shows how the past and present are so intertwined that we can’t ignore what we don’t like hearing.

People are up in arms about The 1619 Project and want it banned in schools. I submit that it’s a necessary read for high school students to get a better understanding of the world. I think everyone should read or listen to this before weighing in on Critical Race Theory and book banning. You may not agree with all of the ideas presented here (I don’t agree with all of the ideas presented in the book) but it’s food for thought about how we shape the future from this point on.

This is a hard book to review in a way. There’s so much material in it that trying to summarize it is impossible. It sheds light on events like the Tulsa race riots, which I hadn’t heard about until this book was published. In that respect, The 1619 Project does the job of getting people talking. I listened to parts of this book with my high school graduate, blue-collar spouse while we were traveling, and it angered him that this wasn’t being taught in schools. All one has to do is be open to hearing a different version of events, from a differing perspective, and realize that history is actually much more complicated than our educational system tries to make it.

It’s time to make good on “with liberty and justice for all…” and that means giving voice to voices that have been suppressed until now, especially as they cry out for justice. We can’t change the past, but we can understand how that past is still influencing the present and strive to create a society that is truly fair to everyone.