7
Behind the CoverWe commissioned the photographer Dannielle Bowman to
photograph the water off the coast of Hampton, Va., at the
site where the first enslaved Africans were recorded being
brought to Britain’s North American colonies. So many of our
national narratives feature the arrival of ships to the New World
(Christopher Columbus, Plymouth Rock), and yet this arrival,
of these “twenty and odd Negroes” in 1619, has generally been
left out of our founding myths. Rarely is the disembarking of
these people treated with grandeur. We wanted to change that.
Photograph by Dannielle Bowman for The New York Times.Beyond this issue, you’ll also find a special section in today’s
newspaper on the history of slavery, made in partnership with the
Smithsonian, and an article in the Sports section considering
the legacy of slavery in professional sports; on Aug. 20, ‘‘The Daily’’
begins a multipart 1619 audio series; and starting this week,
in partnership with the Pulitzer Center, The Times is introducing
a curriculum and educational outreach effort to bring this
material to students (for information, see the inside back cover).
Look for more #1619project updates in the weeks ahead.The 1619 Project Continuesage 4 / T he Idea of America,
Capitalism, by Matthew Desmond,
ystem, by Jeneen Interlandi,
, Page 48 / Undemocratic Democracy,
l Inequality, by L nda Villarosa,
, by Wesl ey Morris, Page 60 / Sugar,
e 70 / Mass Incarceration, by Bryan
ap, by Trymai ne Lee, Page 82 / Hope,
, Page 86 / Contributors 10 / Puzzles 94, 96, 97 / Puzzles Answers 97 / Endpaper 98