Changing the Narrative, with Nikole Hannah-Jones

<p><i>The 1619 Project </i>was a career-defining moment for New York Times reporter <a href="https://nikolehannahjones.com/" target="_blank">Nikole Hannah-Jones</a>. Released as a standalone issue of the <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/08/14/magazine/1619-america-slavery.html" target="_blank"><i>Times Magazine</i></a><i> </i>in August 2019, the project sought to reframe the American narrative, linking our country’s founding to the arrival of the first enslaved Africans on the shores of Virginia.</p><p>When the project was initially released it was widely praised as a much-needed corrective to a white-washed version of American history. But there was also pushback from the likes of then-President Trump and Fox News. And some of that pushback was downright nasty.</p><p>This week, Penguin Random House is releasing the <i>1619 Project </i>as a <a href="https://1619books.com/" target="_blank">book</a>, audiobook and children’s book. Into America’s Trymaine Lee is one of the book’s contributors. He and Nikole Hannah-Jones sat down to talk about the way the project has shaped America, how it’s shaped her, and the power of changing the narrative.</p><p>For a transcript, please visit <a href="https://www.msnbc.com/intoamerica" target="_blank">https://www.msnbc.com/intoamerica</a>. </p><p>Thoughts? Feedback? Story ideas? Write to us at <a href="mailto:intoamerica@nbcuni.com" target="_blank">intoamerica@nbcuni.com.</a></p><p><strong>Further Reading and Listening:</strong></p><ul><li><a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/nbcblk/unc-withholds-tenure-1619-project-journalist-after-conservative-backlash-n1267979" target="_blank"><strong>UNC withholds tenure for "1619 Project" journalist after conservative backlash</strong></a></li><li><a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/nbcblk/how-trump-ignited-fight-over-critical-race-theory-schools-n1266701" target="_blank"><strong>How Trump ignited the fight over critical race theory in schools</strong></a></li><li><a href="https://www.msnbc.com/podcast/reparations-nikole-