1619 Impact Grantees

The 1619 Impact Grant is a program that funds and supports educators engaging students and teachers in their community with the content and themes of The 1619 Project beyond the individual classroom level. These Grantee projects are in collaborative and innovative in their approaches to cultivating sustained community impact.

Grantees in the 2025 program cohort are utilizing at least one resource from The 1619 Project to:

• Improve the awareness and critical thinking of students and/or educators about the legacies of slavery in the contemporary United States, and the contributions of Black Americans to American Democracy
• Explore the role the news media plays in shaping our understanding of both history and democracy.
• Equip students and/or educators to take action and make change that advances democracy within their communities 

Through their work, the 2025 Impact Grantee Cohort is creating models for schools and classrooms at all levels, kindergarten through university, that are preparing to engage with the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence in 2026. Each project presents a unique model while the unifying theme of American democracy brings them together to create a shared story of impact.

The inaugural 2024 Grantee Cohort includes career K12 educators, college professors, non-profit leaders, and museum directors. They represent six states and the District of Columbia. Together, their nine projects reached over 11,200 people. Learn more about each project below.