The 1619 project started as a novel being recently turned into a series. While the Novel includes many talented authors, Nikole Hannah-Jones is one of the writers projected most in the series. The project focuses on the connection and history of the United States slave system and how that impacts the world today.
While looking into episodes 2 and 5 of the 1619 project series, it offered many perspectives to my knowledge. It put many things into perspective such as race in different countries, how black women are treated in the medical field, and how things are connected to slavery in many strong ways. In my view, you’d expect everyone in the world to understand the power and perceptions of race. With the perspective of the biracial couple such as the “African accountant and his wife,” he weighed in on his experience with “race” in his hometown. You’d wish for life to not have to worry about what the color of your skin is and having to worry about what you look like and your ancestry to live a simple day-to-day life.
Addressing Intimacy of Women
The prevalence of rape has been described to multiple women in the history of children and women on plantations. The topic was very common. We are still living with this legacy of centuries in the US such as the many biracial couples and children that are being born to families here. Some because of the obsession with black individuals’ features.
In the past, there was something called forced reproduction. It is clear that this plays a huge part in resisting domination in their bodies. It included making sure enslaved women continued giving birth that are in the age range of fertile. Enslavers wanted to be well aware of young women receiving their first menstrual cycle. Forcing relations to breed regardless of “considered partners.” While women worked as slaves and in slavery conditions, they were pregnant the entire time. They received zero prenatal or medical care, such as being pregnant, having miscarriages, or having stillborns. Women have and still suffer from high rates of infant mortality. Carrying this trauma in their bodies from the industrialized world. It is said to be a “direct link and contemporary connection to maternal mortality today and infant mortality and the challenges women had giving birth during slavery.”
What’s Your Fear?
The role men played during slavery and the lack thereof you hear about black men during slavery has played on people’s thoughts. Going back to forced reproduction, black men were also used for their bodies in a way. You hear about the white male placing fear into these individuals and limiting the activities or things they were able to do when it came to just living.
The words impunity, subjugation, and constitution. These words seem important to me because it talks about domination, immunity, and obviously the Constitution. It relays the relevance of the words and topics throughout both genders and races in the world today and the world during slavery. It just shows how no different the world perceives race and gender today compared. Authors/speakers use poems and language to communicate a point of view by including their perspectives and the way they perceive the world or a topic. But I feel like it is all in the way a reader understands or sees what’s written or read to them.
As a young woman, this influences my life choices and how I want to live my life. Asking myself do I want to experience the trauma of pregnancy and delivery, although there are many wonderful things about giving birth. There’s trauma within being, not only a woman but a black woman.
This was well-written! I loved how you educated us about the history of women getting raped and how it has been happening to women for years and how it is affecting the world today! I also love how you ended it with how it will affect your decision not only as a woman but as a Black woman. I also enjoyed how you talked about Black Men being too advantaged in a different way during that time period. I’m relieved that you were able to dig into the history of the trauma that happened to us Black Women. I feel like our history is always hidden from us and you told the hidden truth very well! Great job!
I was very invested in both your topics at hand and your writing. I believe that there is a great importance in acknowledgment of aspects of history and how they affects demographics today. In the case of slavery, it is a horrific past that haunts many today. I believe that you did an incredible job of outlining the gender discrimination and its aspects as well.
Alana, I enjoyed your reflection on the impact of the 1619 project and the legacy of slavery in the US, as it is important to acknowledge the history that still affects many people. When you said, “it is all in the way a reader understands or sees what’s written or read to them,” it explains how an author’s impact is carried out through the understanding of the audience.
I really like the way you expressed the trauma of these women. It helps understand the movie and the significance behind it. You had great word choice as well.
A powerful title and an amazing picture it really fits the theme and makes you wanna read the article yourself. The way its Segmented with the thought-provoking headings shows how much care was put into it and the article itself was a good read that makes you think
I concur with the abuse for you story’s point of view. What can we do to prevent individuals from being taken advantage of, in your opinion?
I really liked your final words about how this history influences your choices as a young black woman. If i had to suggest anything it’d just be to add a bit more to it, all around it’s great work.
I agree with the point of view of rape for you story. How do you think we could make it so less people get taken advantage of?
I Like how you focused on the idea or prevalence I think that’s a very strong idea to add to the blog.