By Jasmine Durst
Nikole Hannah-Jones visited Susquehanna University on Feb. 12, 2025, at 7 p.m. in Weber Chapel as part of the Susquehanna University 2025 Lecture and Discussion Series. She is the author of “The 1619 Project” and won the Pulitzer Prize for her novel. She also co-authored the children’s book “Born on the Water.”
“The 1619 Project” is a novel that widens the lens of Americans’ views on U.S. history. The history Americans were taught is inaccurate and glorifies the U.S. by eliminating the dark chapters. For example, an English ship called the White Lion sailed in 1619, one year before the May Flower. It was the first ship to carry enslaved Africans to the colony of Virginia.
Hannah-Jones spoke on SU’s 2023 Black History Project. She states that only people in dominant positions want to forget the true building blocks of our country while the minority groups need acknowledgement.
To combat this happening, citizens need to research the hidden past truths of our history. They need to understand every side and comprehend the damage caused. Finally, they need to help repair the broken pieces and encourage others to start the healing process.
There has been an erasure of Black fact and truth. There have been book bans, as well as paintings and posters being taken off walls that were created by Black, LGBTQ+, Hispanic, and Asian artists around the U.S.
Hannah-Jones said there needs to be a sense of urgency. The Saving American History Act has been put in place. Yet, the very fabric of the country will be torn apart because most of history has been purposely lost or banned from being taught.
Despite America’s First Amendment protecting our freedom of speech, “The 1619 Project” is actively being targeted even though it is a work of journalism. Across the country, schools are banning Black speakers in a struggling effort to hide racism and black contributions to history.
Google is also trying to erase Black History Month from its calendar.
Hannah-Jones said, “We are teaching power what it can get away with.” Racial problems and democratic forces are connected, and silence is no longer working.
The New York Times agreed, saying, “We are at a point of social crisis.” America cannot wait for someone else to save democracy.
Hannah-Jones also recognized that citizens are slowly losing their rights. A president has tried to end the Fourteenth Amendment’s Birth Rights Citizenship – in the United States, this means that any person born on U.S. soil automatically becomes a U.S. citizen, regardless of their parents’ citizenship status. This right also ensures and protects basic rights.
Hannah-Jones also emphasized that recent policy has targeted different human rights. Some targeted rights in modern times include Black Rights, Gay Rights, Disability Rights and Immigrant Rights.
According to Hannah-Jones, removing these is the first step in stripping everyone’s rights. If it can be stripped from one group, it can be stripped from the others. America needs to defend multi-racial democracy.
Hannah-Jones clarified that the coined phrase ‘All men were created equal’ was created by men who had 200 or more slaves in total. The first man to die in the revolution was Crispus Attucks, a Black man. This note was used to silence people about slavery and racism. Hannah-Jones believed that where there is the most need, America should send the most help.
What is the best way for students to stay well-informed? Not many people are getting information from credible sources. For example, one of Hannah-Jones’s students had no idea what was going on in society since the inauguration.
She proposed that students need more human-to-human interaction. People must also practice mindfulness. The current toxicity and separation in today’s society are bad for mental health, but it is also dangerous not to stay informed. People need to be actively involved in their learning.
“I wish we had more faith in each other,” Nikole Hannah-Jones ended.
