THE 1619 PROJECT: A VISUAL EXPERIENCE | Busboys and Poets Books Presents

“Here, in these pages, Black art provides refuge. The marriage of beautiful, haunting and profound words and imagery creates an experience for the reader, a wanting to reflect, to sit in both the discomfort and the joy, to contemplate what a nation owes a people who have contributed so much and yet received so little, and maybe even, to act.”

—Nikole Hannah-Jones, from the Preface

Curated by the editors of The New York Times Magazine, led by Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Nikole Hannah-Jones, this illustrated edition of The 1619 Project features seven chapters from the original book that lend themselves to beautiful, engaging visuals, deepening the experience of the content. The 1619 Project: A Visual Experience offers the same revolutionary idea as the original book, an argument for a new national origin story that begins in late August of 1619, when a cargo ship of enslaved people from Africa arrived on the shores of Jamestown, Virginia. Only by reckoning with this difficult history and understanding its powerful influence on our present can we prepare ourselves for a more just future. 

Filled with original art by thirteen Black artists like Carrie Mae Weems, Calida Rawles, Vitus Shell, Xaviera Simmons, on the themes of resistance and freedom, a brand-new photo essay about slave auction sites, vivid photos of Black Americans celebrating their own forms of patriotism, and a collection of archival images of Black families by Black photographers, this gorgeous volume offers readers a dynamic new way of experiencing the impact of The 1619 Project. Complete with many of the powerful essays and vignettes from the original edition, written by some of the most brilliant journalists, scholars, and thinkers of our time, The 1619 Project: A Visual Experience brings to life a fuller, more comprehensive understanding of American history and culture.

Nikole Hannah-Jones is joining us on the Busboys stage in the Langston Hughes room to share this newest installment of THE 1619 PROJECT and the curatorial decisions taken to create the visual experience. Copies of the book will be available for purchase before and during the event, with shipping available for our livestream guests. There will be stock set aside for livestream viewers, so make sure to order your copy before we’re out of stock! Your purchase of the book includes shipping anywhere in the United States via USPS. Guests attending in person will have the opportunity to purchase a variety of books from The 1619 Project series.

This event is a hybrid event. Admission inside the Langston Hughes room to see Nikole Hannah-Jones on stage requires purchasing THE 1619 PROJECT: A VISUAL EXPERIENCE Book and In-Room Seat Bundle. Gallery Seating is free and open to all, with seating available throughout the restaurant and bookstore area on a first come, first serve basis. The event will be livestreamed throughout the restaurant for Gallery Seating guests. We will also be livestreaming the event on our Youtube @Busboysandpoets. If you have any accessibility concerns or accommodation requests please contact us at <>

Doors open at 5:15 PM, with our program beginning at 6:00 pm. Please note that this event is in person and will be livestreamed. Seating inside the Langston Hughes Room requires guests to purchase the “THE 1619 PROJECT: A VISUAL EXPERIENCE Book and In-Room Seat Bundle” ticket option.

We ask that guests RSVP in order to receive direct updates about the event from Busboys and Poets Books

The 1619 Project began in 2019 as a special project from The New York Times Magazine to commemorate the 400th anniversary of the beginning of American slavery. It is led by Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Nikole Hannah-Jones, along with New York Times editor-in-chief Jake Silverstein and New York Times Magazine editors Ilena Silverman and Caitlin Roper. 

Nikole Hannah-Jones is an award-winning investigative reporter who covers civil rights and racial injustice for The New York Times Magazine and the Knight Chair in Race and Journalism at Howard University where she is the founding director of the Center for Journalism & Democracy. Her reporting has earned her the Pulitzer Prize, the MacArthur “Genius” Grant, the Knight Award for Public Service, the Peabody Award, two George Polk awards, the National Magazine Award three times and an Emmy. She is a Society of American Historians Fellow and a member of the Academy of Arts & Sciences.

Host or Publisher Busboys and Poets