The 1619 Project

The first episode of The 1619 Project is insightful, poignant, and revelatory about the state of American democracy. It shows how black Americans have had to fight every step of the way to be included in the democratic process, and that these battles are far from relics of the past. The way that the documentary is structured is similar to Claudia Rankine’s Citizen: An American Lyric because both pieces of media incorporate stories told through a series of anecdotes. The 1619 Project creates a narrative about voter suppression by showing real barriers to entry in the voting process in the same way that Citizen creates a narrative about oppression by sharing individual microaggressions that black people have experienced. Both The 1619 Project and Citizen also utilize powerful imagery intended to enhance the material. One example of this in Citizen is the image of a black sculpture adorned with flowers, contorted and hunched over, which is meant to exemplify the commodification of black bodies for white consumption that was discussed in the text. The 1619 Project often features footage of black Americans while voice overs play, some examples of this being a man wrapped in an American flag and a pregnant woman. This footage was shown after a discussion about black people’s importance in building America and their determination to remain in a country that they helped to create, which was powerful and sent a clear message. Similar to Citizen, the imagery enhances what is being communicated through the words.

One thing that stood out to me in particular in The 1619 Project is the sinister nature of voter suppression and how tactical it is. A prime example of this is when a group of elderly black people were denied their right to vote because of a clerical error and were told they had to go to a polling location 20 minutes away. This is clearly an example of predation on a vulnerable group; the poll workers know that these people have no way of getting to another polling station and at that point, it would be easier for them not to vote at all. Voter suppression is no longer as blatant as the grandfather clauses and literacy tests of the past. Modern voter suppression involves making the process as difficult as possible for marginalized groups in order to discourage them from trying to vote at all. This insidious process makes sure that not everyone’s voice is heard and keeps the status quo in order. It is also why the work that the people in the documentary are doing is so important: something as simple as education and advocation can cause major upsets in the polls and help often unheard voices to speak up.