What is your reaction to the last sentence in Ch. 1: “We were told once, by virtue of our bondage, that we could never be American. But it was by virtue of our bondage that we became the most American of all”

The enforcement of racial divisions through legislation, Loving vs Virginia, Miscegenation, Moynihan’s 1965 report; The Negro Family: The Case for National Action, Loretta J. Ross and Reproductive Justice are discussed in Chapter 2.

What are your general impressions after reading this chapter?

How do you see people trying to heal from deeply rooted and systematic racism, both on a personal and structural level?

The earlier section of this chapter details some of the horrors of the slave trade, including the violent and inhumane treatment of enslaved people. We just want to acknowledge this and ask if anyone would like to comment on it.

What we’d like to discuss with this group is another central point of this chapter about sugar. On the one hand, over the course of centuries, the sugar industry was built on the backs of Black people. On the other hand, now the sugar industry is profiting by selling harmful sugary foods and beverages to Black people. We’d like to look at how this happened and see what’s important to learn from this history.

How did this all get started? Specifically, what was it about the sugar industry that made it particularly appealing for sugar planters to have enslaved Black people do the work? Do you see any echoes of that pattern today?

After the Civil War, what prevented enterprising Black people from owning and profiting from the sugar business? Again, do you see any echoes of these patterns today?

Why are Black people today particularly vulnerable to excess consumption of sugary beverages and foods?

What obstacles do you think stand in the way of a skilled and enterprising Black person today who wants to buy or start their own agriculture business or food business?

Community and public health people are doing a lot these days in an effort to bring healthier food options into low-income and predominantly Black neighborhoods and to promote healthy eating. Can you think of any lessons from this reading and discussion that could inform these efforts?

The authors write, “Nothing has proved more threatening to our democracy, or more devastating to Black communities, than white fear of Black freedom dreams” (p. 102). What are your thoughts, reactions, connections, or questions in response to that quote?

What can we learn from this history of dispossession and what are the implications for the present day?

Final question: How can real, sustainable change happen in the United States?

Pulitzer Center The 1619 Project Reading Guide: Quotes, Key Terms, and Questions