I sat on reviewing this book for a while. Months to be exact. When I received this book, I was incredibly excited to own recent literature that showed that people like me still exist and are still making progress.  Progress that can be seen, felt, and thanks to my ancestors, can now thrive in.

I read the opening poem titled “The White Lion” by Claudia Rankine.  I read the poem as if it were a slice of moist layered chocolate cake on the plate in front of me.  Wanting to enjoy every delicious bite, I read it slow so that I’d be able to ingest ever crumb written in delight; but suddenly it became hard to swallow.  I was almost choking on the descriptive way the writer explained the White Lion and the men of war carrying movables (blacks in essence) who were kidnapped from their own countries. They were “stolen, renamed and unfree.” They are described as being stripped of all values of being a human being. Suddenly, my chocolate cake wasn’t tasting so good anymore.

Nikole Hannah Jones really did a good job of placing and balancing the details of the tragic events between the past and how slavery presents itself in the modern day. The impeccable, non-sparing details of how black human beings were forced to believe they were ordained by God to be the chattel of the barbaric white men and women using the language of Jesus to manipulate and serve them.  

My conversations throughout my years on this topic are abundant. I can’t remember when I’ve heard or received historical information about the state of the black man or woman where there was never a mention of work.  As if from the beginning, when God created blacks (as stated) they’re mentioned in such a way to make one think that the word “work” and “black” are synonymous terms.  In The 1619 Project, free-spirited men and women were kidnapped from their own land for the sole purpose of doing work.

If we believe what history tells us, we will believe the slaves were provided “accommodations” as told by white people to help them live in a state of “peace.” The conditions in which our ancestors were forced to live and the sin-built rules they were forced to live by were far from accommodating or peaceful.

The physical and political optics reveal that in America today, that blacks are no freer than they were hundreds of years ago.  Although slavery claims to be abolished and blacks are no longer owned as property, we are very much controlled through corporate missions and purposes. Blacks still aren’t getting full access to the benefits derived from the forced hard labor that their ancestors had to fight and die for.

The 1619 Project compilation has left me wondering if there will a Part 2. A modern day look at slavery rebranded. The freedoms we are still deprived from.  Are we mercifully freed to enjoy being the beautiful shades of caramel and chocolate colors that God created us to be?

For more on this book and the author go to: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-1619-project-nikole-hannah-jones/1139222389

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THE OTHER BLACK GIRL REVIEW: by Deanne

As a fictional piece, “The Other Black Girl” has such an emotional force of power that will have you feeling all types of emotions. I was having flashbacks to some of the essays written in The 1619 Project while listening to this audiobook. I finished this book in two days, which is a true testament to how interested I was in this novel.
That first chapter had me saying out loud, “If this isn’t a diversity and inclusion conversational piece, I don’t know what is.” I must admit I was hoping for a different ending. I won’t give too much away, but it was an unexpected, yet satisfying way to end the book.
The worst feeling in the world is being a limited commodity. An experienced, hardworking black person that is not recognized in an organization. As a black woman, Nella’s character makes me empathize with the inner struggle of not feeling black enough, yet loving her blackness and black culture.
How am I able to say this? Because this bit of fiction pleasure sure does resemble a black girl’s life!

For more on this book and the author go to: https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/The-Other-Black-Girl/Zakiya-Dalila-Harris/9781982160142