1619: And away we go!
1619: And away we go!
Week 3: Thank you for a great first discussion. Now let’s read “Democracy.”
Thank you everyone for a great discussion on Saturday! It was wonderful to see you all. I must say: You are a dazzling, thoughtful group.
A summary: We said hi, I shared some slides, we discussed “Origins” in small groups, we reflected on our own, we celebrated one another, and Camille won Born on the Water. (Sorry, Toronzo; you were so close.)
Now it’s time to time to dive into Module 2. Here’s a sneak peek of our schedule.
This week, let’s read “Democracy,” by Nikole Hannah-Jones. This essay is a big and important one: It’s 30 pages long. It introduces the thesis of the book. It won the Pulitzer Prize. It spurred white backlash. It’s beautifully written.
I’m going to read it slowly. I hope you do, too!
This week
Read “Democracy,” by Nikole Hannah-Jones.
Recommended: What is one thing you learned? Please leave a comment.
Encouraged: Fill out this two-question survey about your experience on Saturday. It’ll help make March’s discussion even better.
Also, please feel free to reach out. All you need to do is hit reply. Let’s build on our momentum from Saturday and make this book club a deep and transformative one. Thank you and have a great week!
Just one? How? ;-)
Among the things I learned about, I'm especially pondering on (around page 14) Dunmore and Lincoln's strategic "invitations" in wartimes for enslaved people to join *their* military forces, and that in both instances people chose to take up arms for the side that they thought would perhaps be at least marginally better for themselves in the long run.
This is especially striking to me as we read it in a moment juxtaposed with Vladimir Putin attempting to use a similar tactic to scare Ukrainian military members into joining HIS armed forces instead, rising up against their own country. Interestingly, the opposite seems to be happening as Ukrainian military have not traded sides, but defections from the Russian military are widely reported.
***
Throughout the chapter I found myself, as the earliest historic moments were described and then unfolded into worse and worse situations, wondering how on earth human beings convince themselves over and over again that other human beings are NOT human, and that in fact those "others" can be PROPERTY.
***
A researcher I know coined the phrase "Words create worlds." I am reminded of that powerfully each time the old familiar word "plantation" is replaced by "forced labor camp." What a stunning transformation of perception lies in just that one shift of language!
***
"What if America understood, finally, now, at the dawn of its fifth century, that we have never been the problem, but the solution" ~page 36, hauntingly.
I learned so much more than I even thought I would. I would have to say that the new learning was around the intricacies of so many historical moments that were so simplified with a "white" focus. The beginnings of the American Revolution, the reality of the evolution Emancipation Proclamation, and so much more. I also have been circling on and reflecting on and digesting the quote, "No one cherishes freedom more than those who have not had it." Just in the last week of current events, this quote still reverberates.