(Formerly the 1619 Project Discussion Group)
Join us the second Thursday of each month, on Zoom, as we continue to discuss how the legacy of slavery and race remain dominant factors in American political, cultural, and social spheres.
The library program centers on an article packet which serves as the discussion text each month. Past discussion topics included the history of slave laws, policing in America, and Critical Race Theory.
All current packets are available on this website and at any of the Heights Libraries. Previous packets are available as .PDFs in the Materials Tab.
Unpacking 1619 Podcast
Unpacking 1619 features interviews with scholars from around the country in which we unpack topics relating to the 1619 Project and race in America. Hosted by Adult Services Librarian John Piche.
Click here to view our new "Unpacking 1619" Podcast.
YouTube Video Playlist
You can view the entire playlist of 1619 project interviews on our YouTube page.
Upcoming Discussion
White Supremacy Part 3: Westward White Expansion
For the upcoming discussion, we continue our deep dive into White Supremacy. This month’s reading packet includes sections from Cristina Beltran's "Cruelty as Citizenship: How Migrant Suffering Sustains White Democracy," and the Department of the Interior - Indian Affairs' 2022 report "Federal Indian Boarding School Initiative Investigation," and finally John L. O'Sullivan' 1845 declaration "Annexation" which coined the term "manifest destiny."
Zoom Discussion
Thursday, July 13, 2023 on Zoom
6:30 – 8 p.m.
Zoom ID: 823 648 5349
Password: 691353
Land and Identity in Africa with Kevin C. Dunn
Kevin C. Dunn, the Donald R. Harter ’39 Professor of the Humanities and Social Sciences, Hobart and William Smith Colleges talks about his book, Politics […]
War on the Klan with Fergus Bordewich
Fergus Bordewich discusses his newest book, Klan War: Ulysses S. Grant and the Battle to Save Reconstruction. Mr. Bordewich explains how the Klu Klux Klan […]
Judges and White Supremacy with Vida Johnson
Vida Johnson, professor at law at Georgetown law, discusses her article “White Supremacy and the Bench.” In which she describes how judges maintain and enforce […]
How Parents Talked To Their Children About BLM with Onnie Rogers
Leoandra Onnie Rogers, Professor of Psychology at Northwestern University, discusses her article, “Exploring Whether and How Black and White Parents Talk with Their Children about […]
Slavery Origins of Gynecology with Deirdre Cooper Owens
Professor Deirdre Cooper Owens discusses her book, Medical Bondage: Race, Gender and the Origins of American Gynecology, which traces the origins of American reproductive health […]
Radical Acts of Justice with Jocelyn Simonson
Professor Jocelyn Simonson talks about her book, Radical Acts of Justice: How Ordinary People Are Dismantling Mass Incarceration. Beginning with a close look at the […]
Auburn Prison and the Murder that Shocked America with Robin Bernstein
Professor Robin Bernstein discusses her book, Freeman’s Challenge: The Murder that Shook America’s Original Prison For Profit. Auburn Prison in Upstate New York was designed […]
Slave Hospitals with Stephen Kenny
Professor Stephen Kenny discusses his article, “A Dictate of Both Interest and Mercy”: Slave Hospitals in the Antebellum South.” Beginning on the shores of West […]
Race and Insanity in a Jim Crow Asylum with Antonia Hylton
Antonia Hylton discusses her book, Madness: Race and Insanity in a Jim Crow Asylum. Ms. Hylton’s extensive research into Crownsville Hospital in Maryland, a segregated […]
View all of the our 1619 Project interviews and lectures
Unpacking Our History Lecture: Grant and the Klan
Join Fergus Bordewich as he discusses his new book, “Klan War: Ulysses S. Grant and the Battle to Save Reconstruction.” Klan War is a bold […]
Unpacking Our History Lecture – Covering the Border War with Sang Hea Kil
How the news media create crime, race, nation, and the USA-Mexico divide examines border newspaper coverage of the USA-Mexico divide and how the nation and […]
Unpacking Our History Lecture – Eugenics After Slavery
Eugenicists’ study of mixed race people with Black and white ancestry did not emerge in a vacuum. Slavery not only gave rise to myths about […]
Unpacking Our History Lecture: Disease, Slavery, and Politics in New Orleans
Antebellum New Orleans sat at the heart of America’s slave and cotton kingdoms. But it was also the nation’s “necropolis,” with epidemic yellow fever killing thousands each summer […]
What Modern Medicine Gained from Slavery
Medical science in antebellum America was a paradox: it presumed African Americans to be less than human yet still human enough to be useful as […]
Problems in Police Training with Jessica Katzenstein
Unpacking Our History Lecture: Problems in Police Training with Jessica Katzenstein Police reform advocates often push police departments to move from fear-laden “warrior” survival trainings […]
The Water We Swim In with Dr. Allison Skinner-Dorkenoo
This talk will make the case that systemic forms of oppression are maintained and reinforced through subtle patterns of thought and behavior, and present some […]
Holocaust and Slavery Reparations with Thomas Craemer
Unpacking Our History Lecture Series: Holocaust and Slavery Reparations with Thomas Craemer Professor Thomas Craemer grew up in post-World War II Germany. One day, he […]
Unpacking Our History Lecture Series: Why Ban Books? Understanding the Discourse of Censorship and Its Effects
Many attempts to ban books in schools and libraries have made headlines over the past few months. Almost all of these attempts have failed and […]
View all of the our 1619 Project interviews and lectures
Latest Packet
All Materials
African Identity & Loss of Culture
Criminal Justice, Prisons, and Race
Slavery and Reparations Part 1
Slavery and Reparations Part 2
Slavery and the American Dream
Slavery in America Part 1
(1619 – 1699)
Slavery in America Part 2
(1699 – 1779)
Slavery in America Part 3 (1779-1859)
Slavery in America Part 4 (1859-1939)
Slaver in America Part 5 (1939-2019)
