400 Years Since 1619 is a blog and structured historical archive examining African American experiences from 1619 to the present. Its central feature, the Arc, presents 40 chronological essays as a connected argument, with a canon index and a full reading order for readers seeking a sustained account of the history. Five analytical lenses—Monument, History, Witness, Culture, and Present—guide exploration of public memory, historical structures, lived experience, cultural expression, and the continuing effects of past and present-day policy and power.

The site also includes observations and a curated Black Media Digest for supplementary reading and related material. Its articles address subjects such as slavery and the Constitution, the domestic slave trade, emancipation, Black Greek-letter organizations, unity, leadership, and empowerment. Combining historical explanation with testimony, culture, and contemporary reflection, the publication aims to make complex histories accessible while showing how their consequences endure.

The site is organized as an evolving archive: its Arc serves as the entry point, while the lenses help readers navigate the material with purpose