Well Said: The collective memories of 1619
On this week’s episode, Sonja Haynes Stone Center for Black Culture and History Director Joseph Jordan shares details about the center’s 1619 Collective Memory(ies) project.
When you think of critical moments in American history, what do you think of? The Mayflower, the Declaration of Independence, Pearl Harbor?
This year is the 400th anniversary of another fateful moment in American history — when African slaves were first brought to an English-speaking colony in the Americas.
“This anniversary is an important moment to go back and interrogate the meanings in different ways, from different perspectives and with a new eye,” said Joseph Jordan, the director of the Sonja Haynes Stone Center for Black Culture and History.
The Stone Center will investigate the meanings of this moment with its 1619 Collective Memory(ies) Project, which will feature a symposium with experts and engaged conversations on Nov. 11.
“We want to have a multivocal conversation where different voices are able to talk about their interpretation of the events,” Jordan said. “It opens up so many possibilities for new discoveries.”
On this week’s episode, Jordan shares details behind the collective memories project, explains why it’s so important to remember this moment in American history and examines how this project fits in Carolina as a place for intellectual discoveries.
This episode of Well Said can be heard in the player above, on SoundCloud, Spotify or wherever podcasts are played.
Join us every Wednesday for Well Said to hear from students, faculty, staff and alumni. Each week, you’ll learn what’s going on in classrooms, labs and around campus, and how it pertains to the local, national and international headlines.
