The 1619 Project, a special issue of The New York Times Magazine, marks the 400th anniversary of the arrival of the first enslaved Africans to Jamestown, Virginia with a series of essays, images, stories, and poems that challenge readers to reframe their understanding of U.S. history by considering 1619 as the start of this nation's story. Through over 30 visual and written pieces from historians, journalists, playwrights, poets, authors, and artists, the issue examines the following questions:

How do societal structures developed to support the enslavement of black people, and the anti-black racism that was cultivated in the U.S. to justify slavery, influence many aspects of modern laws, policies, systems, and culture?

How have resistance, innovation, and advocacy by black Americans over the course of American history contributed to the nation’s wealth and the strengthening of its democracy?