Something new in the new year

Who wants to discuss The 1619 Project, by Nikole Hannah-Jones?

But Mark, you ask, isn’t this Article Club, and isn’t The 1619 Project a book?

Yes and yes. But Nikole Hannah-Jones is one of the reasons I launched Article Club, and The 1619 Project, in my mind, is one of the most important works of the last several years. So I’m thinking we should make an exception, right?

Here are some ideas that I have so far (and are subject to change, with your feedback and ideas):

• We’ll read the whole book, focusing on its 18 essays.

• We’ll start in February and end in July, for a total of 6 months.

• Each month, we’ll read 3 essays (one a week) and then participate in a discussion (likely the last week of the month).

• Our discussions will be 75-90 minutes. Depending on who’s interested, this could be in person or on Zoom.

• We’ll keep things intimate. If more than 8 people are interested, we’ll make sure to build small discussion groups. We’ll commit to joining all 6 discussions.

• This is for paid subscribers ($3 a month, $18 total, subscribe here), with 100% of proceeds going to The 1619 Freedom School, an afterschool literacy program founded in partnership with Ms. Hannah-Jones.

If you’re interested (or if you have questions), let me know by leaving a comment. Also, I welcome your suggestions. What would make this a valuable experience for you?

Two last things: Happy New Year! And just in case you’re concerned: This book study is in addition to, not instead of, regular programming at Article Club. Be on the lookout for this weekend’s post, which will introduce January’s article. It’s a great one.

As always, thank you for supporting Article Club!