By Mike McCombs
The Island News
The First Beaufort Community Marathon Reading of the 1619 Project: A New Origin Story by Nikole Hannah-Jones will take place at 7 a.m., Saturday, Jan. 13 during Martin Luther King weekend at the Tabernacle Baptist Church Fellowship Hall.
Beginning at 7 a.m., multiple volunteer readers will read the work from beginning to end in 15-minute blocks. (Readers can follow the QR code with this story to volunteer to read.)
Organizers estimate the reading to finish around midnight. But if it’s not finished, the reading will continue until it is.
Snacks and drinks will be provided to those who read. T-shirts will be given to each reader and offered for sale. NeverMore Books and Beaufort Bookstore will be present, as well, selling various books.
The 1619 Project, a piece of long-form journalism from the New York Times and the New York Times Magazine, is essentially an anthology of essays reframing American history and the institution of slavery’s impact on the United States’ economy, laws, society, and the livelihoods of Black Americans. The project is often critical of many traditionally revered figures and events in American history.
The work has earned both praise and criticism from historians. Hannah-Jones, who has been invited to the marathon reading, was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Commentary for her introductory essay.
TZiPi Radonsky, one of the event’s organizers, said the intent is to tell the truth, the whole story. Quoting Hannah-Jones, she said, “if we are truly a great nation, the truth cannot destroy us.”
Want To Go?
What: Beaufort Community Marathon Reading of the 1619 Project: A New Origin Story
When: 7 a.m., Saturday, Jan. 13
Where: Tabernacle Baptist Church Fellowship Hall, Beaufort
Cost: The event is free and open to the public
Want to read? Follow this QR code to volunteer to be a reader.
Mike McCombs is the Editor of The Island News and can be reached at TheIslandNews@gmail.com.
