Image of Audiobook Covers for Born on the Water and The 1619 Project
A Full Audiobook Cast Brings The New York Times Bestselling THE 1619 PROJECT to Life

The New York Times Magazine’s award-winning “1619 Project” issue brought history into powerful focus by placing slavery and its continuing legacy at the center of our American national narrative.

Now The 1619 Project, created by Nikole Hannah-Jones and The New York Times Magazine, is available as a full-cast audiobook read by Nikole Hannah-Jones and a cast that includes 40 (out of 53) of the book’s contributors, along with an additional 14 narrators (see the cast list in its entirety at the bottom of this post). This remarkable audio program was directed by Joseph Grimm, Simone Barros, Kelly Gildea, Joan Sergay, and May Wuthrich.

Listen to a clip from the #1 New York Times bestselling The 1619 Project:

For young readers and listeners, the starred reviews and best-of-the-year mentions are in for The 1619 Project’s lyrical picture book companion Born on the Water, which chronicles the consequences of slavery and the history of Black resistance in the United States, thoughtfully rendered by Nikole Hannah-Jones and Newbery honor-winning author RenĂ©e Watson.

A stunning work, providing a glimpse into the history of the Black experience before and after the slave trade.School Library Journal, starred review

Beginning with the rich cultures of West Africa, the book tells how, after the Middle Passage, Black Americans created a new people in America….Strong poems. Necessary history. Extraordinary art.NPR
Born on the Water isn’t just a reframing of American history; it reframes how children, especially Black children, are taught their own history.Essence

Listen to a clip from the New York Times bestselling children’s audiobook, Born on the Water:


The 1619 Project Cast List

“Preface: Origins” — written and read by Nikole Hannah-Jones
“The White Lion” — written and read by Claudia Rankine
“Democracy” — written and read by Nikole Hannah-Jones
“Daughters of Azimuth” — written and read by Nikky Finney
“Loving Me” — written by Vievee Francis and read by Janina Edwards
“Race” — written and read by Dorothy Roberts
“Conjured” — written by Honoree Fannone Jeffers and read by Shayna Small
“A Ghazalled Sentence After ‘My People
Hold On’ by Eddie Kendricks and the Negro Act of 1740” — written and read by Terrance Hayes
“Sugar” — written and read by Khalil Gibran Muhammad
“First to Rise” — written and read by Yusef Komunyakaa
“proof [dear Philis]” — written and read by Eve L. Ewing
“Fear” — written by Leslie Alexander and Michelle Alexander and read by Karen Chilton
“Freedom Is Not for Myself Alone” — written by Robert Jones, Jr. and read by Aaron Goodson
“Other Persons” — written and read by Reginald Dwayne Betts
“Dispossession” — written by Tiya Miles and read by Erin Miles
“Trouble the Water” — written by Barry Jenkins and read by Dominic Hoffman
“Sold South” — written by Jesymn Ward and read by Adenrele Ojo
“Capitalism” — written and read by Matthew Desmond
“Fort Mose” — written and read by Tyehimba Jess
“Before His Execution” — written and read by Tim Seibles
“Politics” — written and read by Jamelle Bouie
“We as People” — written and read by Cornelius Eady
“A Letter to Harriet Hayden” — written by Lynn Nottage and read by Minka Wiltz
“Citizenship” — written and read by Martha S. Jones
“The Camp” — written and read by Darryl Pinckney
“An Absolute Massacre” — written and read by ZZ Packer
“Self-Defense” — written and read by Carol Anderson
“Like to the Rushing of a Mighty Wind” — written and read by Tracy K. Smith
“no car for colored [+] ladies (or, miss wells goes off [on] the rails)” — written and read by Evie Shockley
“Punishment” — written and read by Bryan Stevenson
“Race Riot” — written by Forrest Hamer and read by William DeMeritt
“Greenwood” — written and read by Jasmine Mans
“Inheritance” — written and read by Trymaine Lee
“The New Negro” — written and read by A. Van Jordan
“Bad Blood” — written and read by Yaa Gyasi
“Medicine” — written and read by Linda Villarosa
“1955” — written and read by Danez Smith
“From Behind the Counter” — written and read by Terry McMillan
“Church” — written and read by Anthea Butler
“Youth Sunday” — written and read by Rita Dove
“On ‘Brevity’” — written and read by Camille T. Dungy
“Music” — written and read by Wesley Morris
“Quotidian” — written and read by Natasha Trethewey
“The Panther Is a Virtual Animal” — written and read by Joshua Bennett
“Healthcare” — written by Jeneen Interlandi and read by Chante McCormick
“Unbought, Unbossed, Unbothered” was written and read by Nafissa Thompson-Spires
“Crazy When You Smile” — written by Patricia Smith and read by Ron Butler
“Traffic” — written and read by Kevin M. Kruse
“Rainbows Aren’t Real, Are They?” — written by Kiese Laymon and read by Bahni Turpin
“A Surname to Honor Their Mother” — written and read by Gregory Pardlo
“Progress” — written and read by Ibram X. Kendi
“At the Superdome After the Storm Has Passed” — written by Clint Smith and read by JD Jackson
“Mother and Son” — written and read by Jason Reynolds
“Justice” — written and read by Nikole Hannah-Jones
“Progress Report” — written and read by Sonia Sanchez
The timeline was read by January LaVoy

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