“Black Americans have always been foundational to the idea of American freedom,” says MacArthur “Genius” Nikole Hannah-Jones, one of TIME‘s most influential people in the world. She’s dedicated her career to proving that when we understand the history of Black America, we understand the history and the future of all America—which makes us better equipped to fight for racial justice today.
The 1619 Project Hulu docuseries weaves Nikole’s own story with the story of our country, exploring concepts from democracy to music to justice. The six-part series, an expansion of the groundbreaking New York Times anthology and #1 NYT bestselling book, is a collaboration between Nikole, director Roger Ross Williams (the first Black director to win an Oscar), and executive producer Oprah Winfrey.
Each episode is based on an essay from the original anthology. As host, Nikole talks to real people—from workers to musicians to mothers—whose compelling stories give us a larger picture of Black America and the nation as a whole. She offers us the chance to gain not only a better understanding of our past, but also the tools to make real change in the present. “The 1619 Project is not a history,” Nikole says. “It really is talking about America today.”
