The 1619 Project isn't new to me; I've read it both in the NY Times and in the published text. What's more Nicole Hannah-Jones has local connections, for me, so I've heard her speak. She's accomplished important work on the Black American experience, work that will help to heal this badly divided nation.
That said, I must add that this adaptation to video format enriches her material impressively. Plainly the people at Harpo Productions have thought a lot about the impact of personal voices and actual faces, both in Jones' family-- where the first episode starts-- and in those of older Americans who experienced the pain and struggle of the Civil Rights movement in the '50s and '60s. The viewing experience is engaging, humane, and the arrangement actually generates a special kind of suspense, within each episode (in the first, election suspense). I can't recommend the documentary highly enough for any American who care about history (I should mention that I'm white, of Italian descent), as well as for anyone seeking to understand this country.
Besides that, I should underscore what others have pointed out, namely, that the negative reviews you see here are completely uninformed-- and in fact were posted before the first episode aired. Shame on whoever put such destructive notes up.
That said, I must add that this adaptation to video format enriches her material impressively. Plainly the people at Harpo Productions have thought a lot about the impact of personal voices and actual faces, both in Jones' family-- where the first episode starts-- and in those of older Americans who experienced the pain and struggle of the Civil Rights movement in the '50s and '60s. The viewing experience is engaging, humane, and the arrangement actually generates a special kind of suspense, within each episode (in the first, election suspense). I can't recommend the documentary highly enough for any American who care about history (I should mention that I'm white, of Italian descent), as well as for anyone seeking to understand this country.
Besides that, I should underscore what others have pointed out, namely, that the negative reviews you see here are completely uninformed-- and in fact were posted before the first episode aired. Shame on whoever put such destructive notes up.