By Delayna Earley
The Island News
Almost 60 people showed up to participate in the First Beaufort Community Marathon Reading of the 1619 Project: A New Origin Story by Nikole Hannah-Jones on Saturday, Jan. 13, at Tabernacle Baptist Church Fellowship Hall in Beaufort.
The reading began at 7 a.m. and volunteers read in 15-minute blocks until just after 3 a.m., when the book was finished.
“The audiobook takes around 19 hours, and we finished in about 20,” said TZipi Randosky, one of the three coordinators of the event.
The 1619 Project: A New Origin Story is a piece of long form journalism from the New York Times and the New York Times Magazine and is an anthology of essays reframing American history and the institution of slavery’s impact on the United States’ laws, society, economy and the livelihoods of Black Americans.
“When people came to listen, they were all asked to remain silent while they were inside of the church,” Randonsky said. “It was very moving.”
Randonsky and fellow coordinators, Sally Lombard and Marie LeRoy, wanted to emphasize the message behind what the book is about.
This is not the first time that Randonsky has participated in a reading of this book, she also participated in one in Massachusetts, but the women agreed that they would be interested to know what kind of impact this reading had on those who attended.
LeRoy said that what stood out to her was not just the number of people who participated, but the diversity among those who participated.
They had readers of all races and genders, but also all ages.
“A family came to participate, all but one of the children read,” Marie LeRoy said. “He didn’t read because he wasn’t old enough. But 9-year-old sister read.”
Randonsky said that many of the readers had a hard time getting through their time due to becoming overcome with emotions.
She said that their goal was to tell the truth, and that is what they did.
Delayna Earley formerly worked as a photojournalist for The Island Packet/The Beaufort Gazette, as well as newspapers in Indiana and Virginia. She joined The Island News in 2022. She can be reached at delayna.theislandnews@gmail.com.
