Viewing Guide for The 1619 Project Docuseries
Episode 4: “Capitalism”
The 1619 Project is a Hulu documentary series expanding on The 1619 Project initiative created
by Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Nikole Hannah-Jones for The New York Times Magazine.
The six-part series seeks to reframe the country’s history by placing the consequences of
slavery and the contributions of Black Americans at the very center of our national narrative.
You can view the documentary series at hulu.com/series/the-1619-project.
About this Guide
Each episode of the series calls on historians, journalists, and community leaders to share their
insight and expertise on the enduring legacy of slavery and its impact on our current society. Each
episode contains information that could be useful for a variety of classroom contexts and weaves
together multiple related themes and plotlines. It is possible for students to engage with these key
themes without viewing the hour-length episodes in full, particularly if they are utilizing other
1619 Project materials as supplemental texts.
As such, we’ve created a guide that allows for both thematic and linear viewing of each episode:
● In the About the Episode section of this guide, you will find a summary of the key themes,
the relevant time stamps for those themes, and some supplemental texts from The 1619
Project to help deepen student understanding.
● In the Linear Viewing Guide section, you will find a table that splits the episode into
sections from start to finish with time stamps and discussion questions.
● At the end of the guide, you will find a Topic Index for the episode listing the key people,
events, concepts, terms, and more to assist with lesson planning and standards alignment.
Some parts of this episode include descriptions of violence and brutality on slave labor camps
during the institution of American chattel slavery. Other parts recount the exploitation of
American workers in the modern day. We suggest having a classroom social-emotional learning
protocol for engaging with hard histories and inviting students to think through how they can care
for themselves when things are both important to know and difficult to listen to.
This viewing guide is accompanied by a Docuseries Activity Guide that goes beyond discussion questions
to provide teachers with extended activities for learning.
These materials were created by Pulitzer Center Education staff to support utilizing The 1619 Project as an instructional
tool. You can find our full 1619 Project Education Materials Collection at https://1619education.org/.
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About Episode 4: Capitalism
“Capitalism” explores the ways in which the institution of enslavement impacted the development
of American capitalism. It delves into the particular brutality engendered by America’s low-grade
capitalism, including the quality of life of American workers and barriers to unionization.
Lastly, the episode documents the experiences of low-wage workers and current efforts to create
a formidable labor movement.
● Defining Characteristics of American Capitalism
● Unionization and Labor Organizing
● Impact of Capitalism in Black Communities
Theme: Defining Characteristics of American Capitalism
Summary of
Theme
This theme explores how the institution of enslavement impacted the
development of a particular brand of low-grade capitalism that is unique to the
United States. It details the brutality, violence, exploitation, and immorality
that American capitalism engenders.
Relevant Time
Stamps
01:24-04:15 (Defining American Capitalism; Disparities in American Society)
08:10-12:26 (Interlude: Low Road Capitalism; Forms of Labor Exploitation)
15:33-21:05 (Record Keeping on Plantations; The Amazon Assembly Line;
Determining Value from Labor)
23:21-26:12 (Interlude: Capitalism and Race)
40:30-46:21 (Brutality of American Capitalism; The Cost of Tax Breaks)
55:48-58:24 (Closing: Combating Barriers and Moving Forward)
Supplemental
Reading
From The 1619 Project: A New Origin Story
“Sold South” by Jesmyn Ward
Chapter 5: “Dispossession” by Tiya Miles
Chapter 16: “Justice” by Nikole Hannah-Jones
Theme: Unionization and Labor Organizing
Summary of
Theme
This theme explores the history of unionization and labor organization in the
United States, and barriers that have hindered the development of a sustained
American labor movement. It also highlights the current unionization efforts.
Relevant Time
Stamps
03:07-04:15 (Interlude: Disparities in American Society)
12:27-15:32 (Personal Account: Derrick Palmer)
18:00-19:00 (Interlude: The Amazon Assembly Line)
26:13-29:59 (Personal Account: Jennifer Bates)
30:00-36:28 (Nationwide Worker Strikes; Labor Organizing at Amazon;
History of Union Destabilization)
46:22-54:19 (Labor Organizing at Amazon; Obstacles to Unionizing)
55:48-58:24 (Closing: Combating Barriers and Moving Forward)
These materials were created by Pulitzer Center Education staff to support utilizing The 1619 Project as an instructional
tool. You can find our full 1619 Project Education Materials Collection at https://1619education.org/.
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Supplemental
Reading
From The 1619 Project: A New Origin Story
“An Absolute Massacre” by ZZ Packer
“1955” by Danez Smith
Chapter 4: “Fear” by Leslie Alexander and Michelle Alexander
Theme: Impact of Capitalism in Black Communities
Summary of
Theme
This theme explores the physical, social, economic, and emotional impacts
that American capitalism has on low-wage Black workers.
Relevant Time
Stamps
00:00-01:23 (Introduction)
03:07-09:04 (Disparities in American Society; Hannah-Jones and Chimiere
Tillman; Low-Road Capitalism)
12:27-15:32 (Personal Account: Derrick Palmer)
18:00-19:00 (Interlude: The Amazon Assembly Line)
21:06-29:59 (Chimiere and Jennifer Bates; Capitalism and Race)
45:50-46:21 (Interlude: The Cost of Tax Breaks)
54:20-55:46 (Interlude: What COVID-19 Revealed )
Supplemental
Reading
From The 1619 Project: A New Origin Story
“Greenwood” by Jasmine Mans
Chapter 11: “Inheritance” by Trymaine Lee
Chapter 16: “Traffic” by Kevin Kruse
These materials were created by Pulitzer Center Education staff to support utilizing The 1619 Project as an instructional
tool. You can find our full 1619 Project Education Materials Collection at https://1619education.org/.
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Linear Viewing Guide: Capitalism
Some questions to consider before viewing:
1. What is capitalism? How have you heard it defined? What connotation does the word have
for you?
2. Some of the history and personal stories told in this episode are hard to listen to because
they describe painful events. What can we do to take care of ourselves when something is
both important to hear and difficult to listen to?
Time
Stamp
Main Topic
Questions to Consider
00:00-
01:23
Introduction
The spoken word poem we hear in this intro is “Whitey on the Moon,”
by Gil Scott-Heron. Written in 1970, it is situated between imagery
from the Apollo 11 spacecraft launch in 1969 and imagery from a
personal spaceflight by Jeff Bezos in 2021. What is the poem
expressing and critiquing? Why might people find it as relevant today
as they did in 1970?
01:24-
03:06
Defining
American
Capitalism
What are Seth Rockman’s critiques of general definitions of
capitalism? Why is it important to have clear and accessible
definitions of terms like capitalism?
According to Robin D.G. Kelley, what is the myth of American
capitalism? What is the reality of American capitalism?
03:07-
04:15
Interlude:
Disparities in
American
Society
What has the COVID-19 pandemic revealed about disparities in
America? Do those disparities redefine the way you think about the
country?
04:16-
08:09
Personal
Account: Nikole
and Chimiere
*single use of
profanity in
conversation
In this section, Nikole Hannah-Jones and her cousin Chimiere
Tillman reflect on the jobs their fathers worked throughout their
lives. What are some of the jobs they mention and what impacts did
that labor have on both men?
Both Hannah-Jones and Tillman become emotional recounting these
stories. Why do you think that is? What is your emotional response
listening to them?
08:10-
09:04
Interlude: Low
Road Capitalism
What does it mean to “take the low-road?” What might be some
defining components of “low-road capitalism?”
These materials were created by Pulitzer Center Education staff to support utilizing The 1619 Project as an instructional
tool. You can find our full 1619 Project Education Materials Collection at https://1619education.org/.
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09:05-
12:26
Forms of Labor
Exploitation
*pictures and
images from
slave labor
camps
According to Professor Rockman, what are the origins of the claim
that slavery was not profitable?
American chattel-slavery fueled business and economics from the
first colonial settlements through the Industrial Revolution. Why is it
important to understand chattel slavery as a national institution and
not just a southern one? How were other nations in exchange with
America during this period of time complicit in the exploitation of
labor from enslaved people?
Rockman names continuous efforts to find and implement coercive
mechanisms that hold people in place and exploit their labor in the
American workplace as a legacy of slavery. How did slavery
impact/shape the culture of the American workplace? Can you think
of examples of what this looks like in practice today?
12:27-
15:32
Personal
Account: Derrick
Palmer
Did you know that Amazon is the second-largest employer in the
United States? How does this knowledge expand our understanding
of the number of people and communities affected by the
exploitative and dangerous labor practices the company is under
investigation for?
How do you think prioritizing productivity over employee safety
impacts a work environment? How might it impact an employee even
after they leave that work environment?
15:33-
17:59
Record Keeping
on Plantations
*pictures and
images from
slave labor
camps
Nikole Hannah-Jones describes American capitalism as historically
demanding “productivity for profit at the expense of human beings.”
How does this framing help us to better understand the throughline
between the exploitative institution of chattel slavery and labor
exploitation today?
Have you seen a slave ledger like the one Caitlin Rosenthal shares
before? Why is it important to understand the meticulous
recordkeeping systems enslavers had in place? How does it
contradict the imaginary version of plantations Rosenthal describes?
In workplace culture today, performance statistics are often
legitimized and celebrated. Why do you think that is the case? Are
there any ways in which this practice may be harmful?
18:00-
19:00
Interlude: The
Amazon
Assembly Line
What system of performance tracking is used for workers on an
Amazon workplace assembly line? How does this system impact the
workers on the line? How does it resemble the performance tracking
in plantation account books?
These materials were created by Pulitzer Center Education staff to support utilizing The 1619 Project as an instructional
tool. You can find our full 1619 Project Education Materials Collection at https://1619education.org/.
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19:01-
21:05
Determining
Value From
Labor
How does it feel to learn about the ways enslavers assigned and
tracked the monetary value of enslaved people? Why is determining
a person’s value from their potential labor production an act of
dehumanization?
Catilin Rosenthal explains that enslaved people were aware of the
ways their enslavers assigned value to them and used that
knowledge strategically. Have you been taught about any other ways
enslaved people used strategy in their lives?
21:06-
23:21
Personal
Account:
Chimiere
How long has Chimiere Tillman been working? Why has it been
difficult to sustain herself and her family despite that amount of
labor?
23:21-
26:12
Interlude:
Capitalism and
Race
Are you surprised to see the statistics on wealth disparity between
white and Black families? Why do you think such a great disparity
exists?
Why does Nikole argue that race and capitalism will never be
inseparable in America? How does Robin D. G. Kelley support this
argument in his explanation of racial capitalism?
Why could Derrick Palmer’s experience at Amazon be considered an
example of racial capitalism? How do the statistics shared about the
racial makeup of workers at his facility and in senior leadership at the
company support this argument?
26:13-
29:59
Personal
Account:
Jennifer Bates
How did locals initially respond to Amazon coming to Bessemer?
How did the reality of Amazon coming differ from the hope that it
initially offered?
How does Jennifer Bates describe her experiences working at
Amazon? Why did Bates decide to stay at Amazon despite these
experiences?
30:00-
31:12
Interlude:
Nationwide
Worker Strikes
What are some of the differences Nikole Hannah-Jones lists
between the United States and other modern capitalist societies?
Why do you think those differences exist?
Were you aware of any of the strikes mentioned in this section? Do
you know of any workers in your community who are striking now?
Where can you learn more about them?
These materials were created by Pulitzer Center Education staff to support utilizing The 1619 Project as an instructional
tool. You can find our full 1619 Project Education Materials Collection at https://1619education.org/.
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31:12-
33:34
Labor Organizing
at Amazon
Why did Derrick Palmer and his colleagues decide to strike? How
were these motivations similar to those of the Amazon workers
fighting to unionize in Bessemer?
33:35-
36:28
Interlude:
History of Union
Destabilization
What are some potential explanations for the low union
participation rate in the United States?
What was the response to unionization efforts of the 1930s and
1940s? What are some of the long-term impacts of this response?
What does Robin D. G. Kelley describe as the popular corporate
response to unionization efforts today?
36:28-
40:29
Labor Organizing
at Amazon
What strategies did Amazon utilize to destabilize their employees’
efforts to unionize? How did this response impact the workplace?
What are a few of the steps Derrick Palmer and his colleagues had to
take in forming their unions? Why might it be challenging for workers
to see a unionization effort through to the end?
40:30-
45:49
Brutality of
American
Capitalism
The institution of American chattel slavery required the theft of land
from Native American Peoples. How does the example provided
about the stripping of 23 million acres from the Creek nation
demonstrate “low-road” capitalism in a different way?
How do Douglas A. Blackmon and Nikole Hannah-Jones term convict
leasing as ‘slavery by another name.’ In what ways does convict
leasing parallel enslavement?
How does this section illustrate the relationship between capitalism
and land? What questions do you have about the history of the land
in your own community after viewing?
45:50-
46:21
Interlude: The
Cost of Tax
Breaks
Where does the money used on government tax breaks to companies
like Amazon come from? How is this burdensome to everyday
citizens?
46:22-
48:46
Labor Organizing
at Amazon
What was the outcome of the initial attempt to unionize the Amazon
facility in Bessemer? Why was Jennifer Bates suspicious about these
results?
48:47-
50:46
Obstacles to
Unionizing
What are some of the barriers to unionizing that have existed
historically in the United States?
Robin D. G. Kelley shares a W.E.B. Du Bois quote about commitment
to whiteness being a paltry wage. What do Kelley and Du Bois
These materials were created by Pulitzer Center Education staff to support utilizing The 1619 Project as an instructional
tool. You can find our full 1619 Project Education Materials Collection at https://1619education.org/.
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suggest could be gained by white workers engaging in solidarity with
others over labor rights?
50:48-
54:19
Labor Organizing
at Amazon
The Amazon workers at the JFK8 facility in Staten Island were able
to successfully unionize. What did the victory mean to Derrick
Palmer?
We see a clip from a speech by Chris Smalls, president of the new
Amazon labor union, in which he addresses Jeff Bezos. How does his
statement relate to the one made by Bezos in the introduction of this
episode?
Nikole Hannah-Jones shares that union activists in 2022 won more
elections than they had in 20 years. Why do you believe that we are
currently witnessing an increase in efforts to unionize?
54:20-
55:46
Interlude: What
Covid Revealed
What was Chimiere Tillman’s experience with stimulus checks during
the pandemic? What does it suggest about the potential of
government programs that invest directly in people?
Why does reflecting on this experience make Tillman emotional?
55:48-
58:24
Closing:
Combating
Barriers and
moving forward
What does Robin D. G. Kelley say must be done in order to make sure
that race is not a dividing factor in social movements/labor efforts?
What does solidarity mean to you? How can we go about building
solidarity?
According to Hannah-Jones, American capitalism requires
complicity. What does it mean to be complicit? What, in your opinion,
would be required to avoid complicity in low-road capitalism?
Some questions to consider after viewing:
1. How has listening to this episode changed your understanding of the ways in which the
United States profited off the labor of enslaved people? How has it changed your
understanding of labor exploitation in America today?
2. How are imagery and audio used to help with storytelling in this episode? How is the
experience of viewing the docuseries similar or different to reading the text?
3. What additional research do you want to do about U.S. history after learning about the
ways in which research can expand your understanding of a topic?
These materials were created by Pulitzer Center Education staff to support utilizing The 1619 Project as an instructional
tool. You can find our full 1619 Project Education Materials Collection at https://1619education.org/.
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Topic Index
Amendments, Legislation, Supreme Court Cases
● Black Codes
● Thirteenth Amendment
Concepts and Terms
Subject Matter Experts
These materials were created by Pulitzer Center Education staff to support utilizing The 1619 Project as an instructional
tool. You can find our full 1619 Project Education Materials Collection at https://1619education.org/.
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