The 1619 Project Wins a Pulitzer Prize

May 5, 2020

America Wasn’t a Democracy, Until Black Americans Made It One

Our founding ideals of liberty and equality were false when they were written. For generations, black Americans have fought to make them true.

By Nikole Hannah-Jones

In August 2019 we published The 1619 Project, which examines the many ways the legacy of slavery continues to shape and define life in the United States. The goal of the 1619 project is to reframe American history, and to place the consequences of slavery and the contributions of black Americans at the very center of the story we tell ourselves about who we are as a country.

Today, Nikole Hannah-Jones won a Pulitzer Prize for Commentary for her essay “America Wasn’t a Democracy, Until Black Americans Made It One,” in which she explores how black Americans have been the perfecters of American democracy.

Photograph by Kathy Ryan

EXPLORE MORE FROM THE 1619 PROJECT

The 1619 Project

American slavery began 400 years ago this month. This is referred to as the country’s original sin, but it is more than that: It is the country’s true origin.

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