#1619ProjectBrunch

I was one of the very lucky people to be invited to the #1619ProjectBrunch at Sylvia's in Harlem this afternoon. I, along with about 50 other invitees, shared  my very personal reaction to today's New York Times magazine dedicated to an honest and insightful exploration of slavery in the United States. We went around the room and all contributed our stories. For me, it was an invitation to bring my own cultural landscape to the table, the first time that a major media outlet had done so. It felt monumental, especially during times when so much is made about people like me being "the other".

As an Afro-Puerto Rican novelist, I felt that my voice needed to be counted in this historic and ongoing dialogue. This was so much more than just a conversation among one specific group of people. There were the voices of African Americans and Latinos and Muslims and Whites and Native Americans; of the young and middle aged and elders; students and scholars and people who might never have picked up this particular newspaper. There were all walks of life represented around that room, a true microcosm of American society. I count myself incredibly lucky to have been invited to raise my voice in that room and I fully intend to continue the conversation. 

Thank you to Nikole Hanna-Jones and Heide Gardner for all their work in seeing this project through to fruition. Thank you to the New York Times for dedicating their considerable resources to this project. 

This is only the first step. We will all continue our collective journey to leaving our children a better society.

#1619Project #1619ProjectBrunch #NikoleHannahJones #HeideGardner #DahlmaLlanosFigueroa #AfroBoricuawriter #DaughtersoftheStone