This “important and timely” (Drew Faust, Harvard Magazine) #1 New York Times bestseller examines the legacy of slavery in America—and how both history and memory continue to shape our everyday lives.
Beginning in his hometown of New Orleans, Clint Smith leads the reader on an unforgettable tour of monuments and landmarks—those that are honest about the past and those that are not—that offer an intergenerational story of how slavery has been central in shaping our nation’s collective history, and ourselves.
It is the story of the Monticello Plantation in Virginia, the estate where Thomas Jefferson wrote letters espousing the urgent need for liberty while enslaving more than four hundred people. It is the story of the Whitney Plantation, one of the only former plantations devoted to preserving the experience of the enslaved people whose lives and work sustained it. It is the story of Angola, a former plantation-turned-maximum-security prison in Louisiana that is filled with Black men who work across the 18,000-acre land for virtually no pay. And it is the story of Blandford Cemetery, the final resting place of tens of thousands of Confederate soldiers.
A deeply researched and transporting exploration of the legacy of slavery and its imprint on centuries of American history, How the Word Is Passed illustrates how some of our country’s most essential stories are hidden in plain view—whether in places we might drive by on our way to work, holidays such as Juneteenth, or entire neighborhoods like downtown Manhattan, where the brutal history of the trade in enslaved men, women, and children has been deeply imprinted.
Informed by scholarship and brought to life by the story of people living today, Smith’s debut work of nonfiction is a landmark of reflection and insight that offers a new understanding of the hopeful role that memory and history can play in making sense of our country and how it has come to be.
Winner of the National Book Critics Circle Award for Nonfiction
Winner of the Stowe Prize
Winner of 2022 Hillman Prize for Book Journalism
A New York Times 10 Best Books of 2021
busy mom –
Awesome, thoughtful. Not an easy read. A wonderful extension of his “Black American History” series on Patreon. Makes me want to visit all of these places. And not at all the history I learned in college at a top school.
Bran –
This is really unique and I’ve never read a book like this. He visits historical sites tied to slavery and the oppression of African Americans and he talks about his experience at each one as well as a little bit of background. It is written in a way that is easy to follow. He is a good writer .
Joseph Somma –
This book is a must read! There are several reasons for my urging others to read Dr. Smith’s wonderful book. First, it is an excellent piece of historical writing. Dr. Smith uses all of his writing skills to provide an immensely readable book. Second, he raises questions that every person interested in history should be willing to explore. His consideration of the difference between history, nostalgia and memory highlight issues all historians need to consider. Finally, his discussion of African American history is gripping. Each chapter offers new information and presents an ever broadening historical representation. It doesn’t hurt that Dr. Smith provides superlative references that can be explored to further enhance our understanding of slavery and how it fits into US History.This is an extraordinary book that demands attention.
Jeremy McBride –
I never write reviews, but feel compelled to do so for this book. He addresses many aspects of slavery. The vile practice itself, the sticky web that included greedy European nations, Africans selling other Africans, the “Union states” dependence on southern slave labor, “post-slavery” oppression and the complexities of what this has meant successive generations. He is frank, but tactful. He is also even-handed and shows some empathy to those that are decent folk but thathave inherited a heritage of untruths about the confederacy and “the South.”Educated me and gave me a new perspective.Thank you for this gift, Clint Smith.
StratCat –
Dr. Smith said in a recent interview that some people don’t know and some people don’t want to know. This is a book for those who don’t know the history of slavery in America and its continued profound impact on all aspects of our society, and it’s likely that those who think they know actually don’t. As a history-lover who was raised in Atlanta and believed myself well-versed in this subject, I realized that there is far more to it than I thought.Dr. Smith brings the reader to areas that demonstrate what slavery was and how it continues to influence us 150 years later. Beginning in Monticello and discussing how recently Jefferson’s true story was uncovered and presented, he then takes us to Whitney Plantation where the emphasis is on the slaves instead of the building; Angola Prison to see how incarceration is often a continuation of slavery; Blandford Cemetery to explore how many people refuse to acknowledge the root cause of the Civil War so they can glorify the Confederacy; Galveston Island to discuss the struggle we continue to face after slavery “ended”; New York City to demonstrate that slavery impacted all Americans and not just Southerners; and Goree Island in Senegal to explain how the story reaches beyond our country. He closes by recounting conversations with his grandparents showing that history is personal, inside each of us, and embodied in our family stories and legacies. Throughout this tour we see that slavery is not in the distant past–Dr. Smith notes that his grandfather’s grandfather was born into slavery, and that our country had slavery for 250 years but has only been without it for 150 years–and remains embedded in our society in ways we either don’t realize or overlook.The uniqueness of this book largely comes from Dr. Smith being both a poet and a historian. His mastery of language takes us not only to the sites through the use of powerful evocative imagery, but allows us to reflect on the experience of an enslaved person. He notes that while stories are often told about Frederick Douglass and Harriet Tubman, they were extraordinary individuals; what about the average person like us? What’s their story? Dr. Smith’s doctorate in history means that he can explain the importance of each site, find the errors in how stories are told, and share documents (usually primary source) that explain the truth behind the presentations. His training also means he doesn’t allow himself the easy way out; yes he shows that the Civil War really was about slavery, but he also notes that the House of Slaves and Door of No Return on Goree Island are probably not accurately portrayed either,While history books are typically written in the third person with an objective bent (in theory if not reality, since history is never objectively told), Dr. Smith puts himself squarely in the story. He explains how it feels to sit in the electric chair in Angola and shares a narrative from someone who experienced a failed execution; he crawls into solitary confinement in Angola and on Goree Island to image how that could break someone; he shares his incredulous anger at the Angola gift shop (with coffee mugs calling it a “gated community”). He re-uses one of his poems to describe a Black child running on streets named after Confederate Generals and what that signifies. He also talks to people, including multiple tour guides, fellow visitors to Monticello (who were history buffs but had no idea Jefferson owned slaves), and–in a particularly powerful scene–attendees at a Sons of Confederate Veterans event at Blandford Cemetery where he legitimately wants to understand their points of view. Dr. Smith is empathic in all of these situations but also holds people accountable for their actions and beliefs. He doesn’t argue with people, but presents information and lets them decide what to do with it. He does this with the reader as well.This book arrives at a time when arguments regarding Critical Race Theory are embroiling our country. State legislators and congressional representatives are attempting to abolish all teaching that suggests systemic racism exists in this country. While this book conclusively demonstrates that this hypothesis is false, I find one example particularly powerful. Angola Prison–which is the largest maximum security prison in the US, and the size of Manhattan–is located on a former plantation. Seventy percent of its prisoners are black, with an average sentence of 87 years. Many of its prisoners were convicted by a non-unanimous jury, which is now unconstitutional. Prisoners work the fields for seven cents an hour and are watched over by armed guards on horseback. Dr. Smith notes, “If in Germany today there were a prison built on top of a former concentration camp, and that prison disproportionately incarcerated Jewish people, it would rightly provoke outrage through the world.” Somehow, in the US this is not only accepted but worthy of commemorating on a coffee mug and tee-shirts. Slavery and its effects remain strong in this country.We have work to do.
sallyr –
Smith’s book is both easy and hard to read. Easy because he is a skillful and captivating author. Hard because the story that he tells is painful and painfully true. He quotes his grandmother as saying that she couldn’t understand how people could treat other people so cruelly.As a white person, so much of the history shared was new to me. At best I had only a passing familiarity with place names. A little dab of this or that.Some parts made me very angry. I felt that some of the discussion of what is race was inaccurate. I had to put the book down and consciously decide if I would continue because of my discomfort.Smith’s reflections challenged what I thought I knew. I know how racism works, but that is my white privilege talking. White culture continues to think it knows our African American neighbors. Our presumption devalues our fellows. To paraphrase Smith’s grandmother again. “I did not live that. I do not live that. I was not even taught that.”It is easier to look at the outward injustices perpetrated on African Americans than to look into our hearts for the cruelty we unconsciously perpetuate. Smith’s book made me look inwards too.And I thank him for his mastery of the written word that pushed me to feel a small bit of the suffering dealt to others by my race.
Kem White –
This is a worthwhile read throughout. All the chapters are excellent but the chapters describing Smith’s visit to the Whitney Plantation, Blandford Cemetery, and New York City are real stand-outs. Smith’s discussion of how slavery permeates American history is both very personal and very illuminating. How white America can want a history that fails to put slavery and caste into its proper historical context is beyond me. And while Smith’s descriptions of historical sites that were the primary locations for slavery are all good, it’s the epilogue with the firsthand experiences of his maternal grandfather and paternal grandmother in the deep South that really brings this book into focus. Highly recommended for all Americans.
Ronald H. Clark –
Between October 2017 and February 2020, the author–a writer for The Atlantic–traveled to several locations in the U.S. and Dakar, Senegal to explore incidents of slavery. He did this in the best fashion, by simply talking to people such as tour guides, academics, and site administrators. Rarely was he confrontational, his tone was mild, but his questions were well prepared and often challenging to the recipient. My belief is, based on my own experience, that if you read this book it will change your viewpoint on American slavery.The first stop was at Jefferson’s Monticello in Virginia. This was most interesting to me since I am a serious student of TJ and have visited Monticello myself over 15 times. While there was little new to me in the chapter, for those less familiar with Jefferson, the chapter is a solid intro to the man and how he lived with over a hundred slaves. The chapter did reveal to me that much as at Colonial Williamsburg also in Virginia, much greater emphasis is being placed on discussing the role of enslaved people. I can remember not too long ago when enslaved persons were referred to as “servants,” and were not part of the standard tour guide’s topics of discussion. Now, there are special tours on the enslaved people and substantial publications relating to them as well. The scholarly staff also has been beefed up with outstanding folks.The author next visited the Whitney Plantation in Louisiana. This is an entirely private contribution of one man. The chapter focuses upon how slavery impacted on children, as well as the intimate tie between slavery and the development of the American economy. Many children died of malnutrition, or were killed by their own mothers to spare them the slavery experience. The third stop was the infamous Angola Prison, the state prison in Louisiana. This chapter is a fascinating and depressing discussion of how the state chose to replace liberated slaves by instituting a convict leasing program. This system continues today–prisoners in effect becoming chattel slaves once again.An especially fascinating chapter is based on the Blandford Cemetery, at Petersburg Virginia. This is a Confederate cemetery with 30,000 graves. It is supported by the Sons of Confederate Veterans and the United Daughters of the Confederacy, still extremely active today. The author has picked the cemetery to discuss an important point. These organizations and others have attempted to rewrite history by supporting “the lost cause” movement. This movement paints a happy slaves situation; that the South was invaded by the North; that slavery was just a small part of the Civil War; that few Confederate soldiers owned slaves, and their allegiance arose for other reasons. They are largely responsible for the hundreds of Confederate monuments across the country. The author does a skillful job of refuting these allegations by using the Confederate states’ own Declarations of Secession. If for nothing else, the book is invaluable for exposing the “Lost Cause” to its readers.The most surprising chapter to me, in a book full of surprises, is the one devoted to slavery in New York City. Yes, NYC was not a “good guy” completely different from the South. The author documents the millions of New York slaves, as well as the city’s financing the South’s slavery industries as well as the Atlantic slave trade.. At one point, the second largest slave market in America, after Charleston, was right in Manhattan. Part of Central Park at one time was owned by freed slaves who were forced out. Much of the author’s research is based on a 2005 publication of the NY Historical Society, “Slavery in New York,” with essays by leading historians such as Jill Lapore. Copies have become scarce and I was happy to secure mine. I think it is just indispensable if you are interested in NYC and/or American slavery.An essential volume for those interested in the practices and consequences of American slavery–which should be everybody.
A. S. –
I read this book in 2021 and ordered a second copy to display on the shelves in my living room. I did this because anyone who who enters my home will see this book. And I usually start a conversation to tell them about it and why they should read it. There is simply not enough Information taught in schools about the truth of slavery. This makes it difficult for people to understand how negatively impactful that period was on generations of African-Americans. In his book Clint Smith teaches us more about slavery and it’s direct ties to the social and economic issues of today. Smith is an incredible writer that keeps you glued to the page even when what you’re reading is emotionally exasperating. His style of writing will appeal to a wide audience of people not just avid readers or historians. Well worth the time!
K. A. 67 –
Clint Smith uses historical research during journalistic interviews of tour guides from Monticello to New York City to uncover the story of the slave economy. He begins this odyssey in his home town of New Orleans and examines with compassion the embedded nature of the confederacy all the way from the planation to the financial backing by the banks in New York. Smith with a poetic eye explores the roots and routes of how the first slaves come to this new world and how the story is told in the present day America. This book emerges at a critical juncture in understanding through conversation and interview our American history.
kathleen cadden –
Clint Smith offers an essential read that compels us to question ourselves, our country, and our humanity mired in a tragic history we can’t get through or learn from because we’re often too afraid to listen to voices in our own head not to mention so many others we willfully ignore, because we have to “be right” rather than do right. This is a great and maddening read as to how we got here and who we harmed in the process. And still do.
James Ryder –
Knowing more of the truth of slavery in America & involvement of North & South in propheting from slavery in Civil War & beyond.
Amazon Customer –
This book adds a richness and depth to the paltry education that we get about slavery in this country. It is deeply personal while still providing historical context to some of the sites where the slave trade occurred. Read it. You’ll be glad you did.
ace_toad –
You owe it to yourself to read this book. Clint Smith’s writing is some of the best I’ve ever read. I feel like I’m right next to him at each place, with thoughtful wording and the space for reflection. The subject matter is so important. Read this book. For your education, your morality, and above all your humanity.
SESTORYWOMAN –
Earlier this week I heard Terry Gross interview author Clint Smith on NPR’s Fresh Air. Clint Smith is an African-American writer who has written a brilliant book entitled “How the Word is Passed:A ReckoningWith the History of Slavery Across America. Clint Smith is a celebrated poet and educator. This book is interesting, informative, personal, and deeply disturbing. Smith visits a number of places: Monticello, New Orleans, the Whitney Plantation, Angola Prison, Blandford Cemetery, Galveston, Texas, and New York City. Everywhere Smith travels, he encounters a welter of opinions and stories about what people know—or think they know—about slavery. It’s a brutal history and sheds light on the fact that many black Americans currently live in the slavery of inequality. This book reveals a lot of truth that I needed to hear. And now I want to read more.
Deborah –
I hadn’t really thought about how we portray slavery across the country. This book is well written, thoughtful, and important. He makes the point of how we remember slavery through 5 places starting in New Orleans. This is a personal observation and reflection book. It begs the question are we going to confront the real history of slavery, the facts, or are we going to rely on myths and continue to be willfully ignorant.
Sheila Gallagher –
This looks at the history of slavery by looking at places where it was practiced and a legacy remains–Monticello, Whitney Plantation, Angola Prison, New York City, Blandford Cemetary, Galveston Island, and Senegal. There are many more places that could be looked at for their stories.I learned a lot. My eyes were opened. Some I knew but most I did not. Now I cannot stay in ignorance any more. While I have not been to Monticello in over 20 years, I want to go back to hear what is now being taught. I have not been to any of the other places Mr. Smith shares the stories from. I have a lot to process and to assimilate with what I know and have learned outside of school.There is a lot of new information coming out from the voices of the oppressed and forgotten. I appreciate their voices being added to what was taught. I can form new opinions based on what I read and learn. We are only now getting a more complete picture of what happened in the past. I can get a more complete and realistic version of what occurred.If we don’t learn from history, we will repeat it. I see that happening so much currently. This is a book I wish I had read when I was younger. It explains things so much clearer than the old history textbooks I had 50 years ago.
M. Yakovich –
Clint Smith is a hell of a good writer for a poet! The research that went into this book is outstanding. It reads like a story, not a history book. You learn some history that has been hidden or over written by others stories. For those of us who are willing to hear the hard truth, this book speaks to our hearts and our conscience. We don’t need to carry the guilt of our ancestors for slavery, but we should acknowledge the truth of what those ancestors did, the evilness of it and the ignorance it inspired. Instead of covering up and changing the narrative, we can learn the truth and rectify the hateful legacy they left. A must read. Sure to make the banned list!
Jaimarie –
I am really reluctant to deduct any stars, because the research, meditation and writing in this book are so considerable. However, this first printing is full of errors. After the prologue and chapter one, the whole book reboots to the cover page. After chapter one (the second time), only the last two pages of chapter 2 are printed. Hopefully the publisher will resolve this and correct the error for the next printing, in the meantime, maybe consider the Kindke or audio version?
Tiana Strobeck –
This book is absolutely 100% amazing! I will be recommending this to everyone I know! Love it love it love it!
Tad Kolke –
The author visits 7 locations that have historical ties to slavery. He brings a unique perspective in looking at the history and some of the contemporary effects traced back to slavery.I think one will learn something new.
Clyde –
I enjoyed the book so much that I had to read it again. For the most part it provides many general facts that are not included in American history textbooks about American Black citizens and our contributions to this country. Much of it was a refresher for me, and a majority of the books chapters prompted me to reflect on my life’s journey. As a 79 year old American Black senior citizen the book has motivated me to start sharing some of my family and life history with my family. Something I never previously thought was important to do, until now.
Gusman –
Will definitely use this seller again.
ysing –
This is a “must read” if you want to see the other side of white supremacy. Quite some years ago I heard about Juneteenth and have become increasingly aware of white supremacy and decided to try to find out “how did we get to this point”….(apparently again!). So, even though I didn’t learn about it in school (or even in college) I have been doing my own research.It took me quite some time to read this book….it was a hard book for me to read. Because slavery and racism (the real story) is painful to read about. This quote from page 202 pretty much says how I feel. ““I think my generation,” she said, “many getting killed, and beaten, and spit on, and dogs, and hoses, did not understand that you have to keep telling the story in order for people to understand. Each generation has to know the story of how we got where we are today, because if you don’t understand, then you are in the position to go back to it.”We absolutely cannot go back to it. So, I do recommend this book…..learn the real story.
DarkStar –
Perhaps the best written and most important book I have read. Truly incredible sentences that make you stop and read them again because they are so poetic even though they describe the horror that is the core history of this nation. Should be read by everyone. I have neglected my work because this book keeps calling me back. I lack the words to adequately express my gratitude to the author.
M. Fick –
There are those who study history, and then those who accept what they have heard or falsely been taught about history. Clint Smith’s book is a must read. It sets an example of how misinformed the American public is and has been for years. It’s the acceptance or denial of what has truly happened in our country.I started studying the civil war and its causes about 11 years ago. It all started with a documentary by Ken Burns about the Civil War which peaked my interests in a part of history that I knew absolutely little about. What I learned in school about the Civil War was pretty limited. It was about states’ rights, not slavery. I’m sure being from the south we were taught the “Lost Cause” version and not the true historical version. Hundreds of books later, I think I have a well-rounded view of what really transpired.But in either case, we’ve learned that slavery is a major part of our history and shaped us as a country. The North won the war, but in the end, the South was still the victor. After we ended slavery forever with the passing of the 13th amendment, unfortunately, and after Reconstruction failed, there was the formation of the KKK, then the south invented a legal system of slavery with its Jim Crow Laws. Since then, the United Daughters of the Confederacy began celebrating confederate generals, erecting statues, and adding their influence to the history of “The Lost Cause.” It was no longer a state’s rights issue. It was race discrimination.When we journey along with Clint Smith, he is exposing to us the lasting commitment of the way history was molded and shaped to be told, instead of teaching the history the way that it happened. And, on this journey we find American’s still trying to deal with the actual history of what happened. How would it look if Germany never dealt with the Holocaust in its country? Why can’t we deal with our own demons in the same way? I wish I knew the easy answer to that. But I do know that when you tell a lie repeatedly and then do it long enough you produce the effect you want; an aberration of the truth.Clint has shown us that these guides at these tourist sites have taken the way of truth, exposing to the public the facts and not the fiction. And, I think they do it in a diplomatic way.Thanks, Clint, for a really great read.
TheFreelanceLibrarian –
Clint Smith’s body of work was an assigned reading that turned into a treasured member of my personal library. Every page was an emotive, beautifully written narrative about a raw and vulnerable journey I envied taking myself someday. It left me feeling indebted to this man for putting so much of his energy and soul into seeking the truth of our past, of giving way to the memory and memorializing of all we’ve been and who we are today.
Lucy –
excellent book which captured the history of slavery in a way that is needed now more than ever. Thank you Clint Smith.
M. Fick –
There are those who study history, and then those who accept what they have heard or falsely been taught about history. Clint Smith’s book is a must read. It sets an example of how misinformed the American public is and has been for years. It’s the acceptance or denial of what has truly happened in our country.I started studying the civil war and its causes about 11 years ago. It all started with a documentary by Ken Burns about the Civil War which peaked my interests in a part of history that I knew absolutely little about. What I learned in school about the Civil War was pretty limited. It was about states’ rights, not slavery. I’m sure being from the south we were taught the “Lost Cause” version and not the true historical version. Hundreds of books later, I think I have a well-rounded view of what really transpired.But in either case, we’ve learned that slavery is a major part of our history and shaped us as a country. The North won the war, but in the end, the South was still the victor. After we ended slavery forever with the passing of the 13th amendment, unfortunately, and after Reconstruction failed, there was the formation of the KKK, then the south invented a legal system of slavery with its Jim Crow Laws. Since then, the United Daughters of the Confederacy began celebrating confederate generals, erecting statues, and adding their influence to the history of “The Lost Cause.” It was no longer a state’s rights issue. It was race discrimination.When we journey along with Clint Smith, he is exposing to us the lasting commitment of the way history was molded and shaped to be told, instead of teaching the history the way that it happened. And, on this journey we find American’s still trying to deal with the actual history of what happened. How would it look if Germany never dealt with the Holocaust in its country? Why can’t we deal with our own demons in the same way? I wish I knew the easy answer to that. But I do know that when you tell a lie repeatedly and then do it long enough you produce the effect you want; an aberration of the truth.Clint has shown us that these guides at these tourist sites have taken the way of truth, exposing to the public the facts and not the fiction. And, I think they do it in a diplomatic way.Thanks, Clint, for a really great read.
James Ingraham –
Masterfully written, this book humanizes history. It is very personal to the author, and yet this allows the reader to relate both to him and to the history he is relaying. As the title suggests, the book is about how slavery and its aftereffects are remembered and taught. This necessarily requires that it relates some of that history itself. This is not, for the most part, a summary of the history of slavery, but rather a collection of glimpses into it. The author does this in such a way that you can palpably feel the weight of that history. This book is enormously important. Please read it. (Note: I am white, and I particularly ask that white people read it.)
MSG23 –
Ever since I read this book, I’ve told every educator I know about it. I think this book should be part of every high school curriculum, at the very least, and when I was reading it at the end of 2021, I couldn’t help but think about the parallels of trying to look for the good in our country’s history of slavery and slaveholders with how we are looking at this current period of history in the same manner. This book will not only challenge what you’ve been taught, but will push you to keep asking “why?” Can’t recommend highly enough.
Renney Senn –
Far from being only a tragic story of what many may see as a prior phase of America’s history, Mr. Smith’s personal, intimate, and contemporary account is, as he repeatedly points out, a foundational American story, still imposing its aftershocks on every day that passes; the impacts of slavery still permeate virtually every aspect of our modern culture. He describes how so many historical foundations we share and have romanticized into an inspiring mythology of our nation, its founding, and its progress are often not the iconic people and events than we have been taught to believe. And yet, if anything, Smith’s depiction of the progress of the African American with its endless repression, violence, malevolence, and brutal humiliation, seems to affirm the rightness of our ideals in spite of the vast obstacles created by a culture that was at odds with these ideals from the beginning. Extremely well told, Mr. Smith’s narrative is laced with evidence of his poetic view of everything he perceives, further enriching it. I felt as if my entry into his world was a remarkable gift to witness a powerful example of human nature’s uneven effort to shed itself of its basest and meanest facets.
AB –
This book takes its place among the first rank of recent works exploring modern responses to the legacy of slavery. Written beautifully, it uses visits to historical locations and interviews there to explore different facets of modern responses. The work explains the importance of history, the filling of gaps, the exposure of lies, the memory of human experiences, and the need to heed centrally relevant but neglected perspectives. It is a powerful motivator and justification for demands for truth-telling and education to fill out deficient histories and to correct false histories. The reviewer “Randall,” evidently a defender of the lie that white Southerners did not die for slavery, obviously didn’t read the book, especially the damning evidence on pages 151-154 with the quotations from southern states’ statements of secession, the Confederate constitution, and Jefferson Davis’s statement in response to Mississippi’s declaration of secession.
Spread joy –
Wonderful & important read.
Mark Odom –
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It is relevant in a time in which white America does not want to own up to its violent past. A knowledgeable mind cannot be lied to. So, read as much as you can about your history. You owe it to yourself and your ancestors.America owes a debt that cannot be denied.
V. Cooper –
This a major part of American history. Let’s embrace the truth the about slavery and the ugliest of that time period.
Gabrielle Robinson, Author of Api’s Berlin Diaries –
In How the Word is Passed Clint Smith takes the reader on a powerful and emotional cross-country journey to show that “the history of slavery is the history of the United States. It was not peripheral to our founding: it was central to it.” The history and stories of places like Monticello, Angola Prison, Blandford Cemetery, and New York City which once had one the largest slave markets on Wall Street prove his point. His account demonstrates not merely the central role of slavery in the past but its fierce legacy until today which still felt deeply from the deep South to the North.All long Smith records the memories and experiences of people he meets on his journeys from tour guides to visitors. At the Whitney Plantation, a place that stands out for its dedication to telling the truth about slavery, the tour guide wants visitors to hear not only about the family separations, rapes, and enforced breeding slaves had to endure, but also appreciate their resilience and intelligence, their love and support of each other since that, too, is a legacy passed down through generations. These stories make us feel viscerally, as Smith does himself, the impact of that history on our lives today. “So much of the story we tell about our history is really the story we tell about ourselves,” which makes me think of James Baldwin’s statement that “We carry our history with us. We are our history.”The message of How the Word is Passed is clear: we cannot move forward as a country unless we reckon with the history of slavery and counter “all the ways this country attempts to smother conversations about how the past shapes the present.” It is a message never more vital than under today’s pressures to suppress and distort that history.Gabrielle Robinson, Author
Ronald H. Clark –
Between October 2017 and February 2020, the author–a writer for The Atlantic–traveled to several locations in the U.S. and Dakar, Senegal to explore incidents of slavery. He did this in the best fashion, by simply talking to people such as tour guides, academics, and site administrators. Rarely was he confrontational, his tone was mild, but his questions were well prepared and often challenging to the recipient. My belief is, based on my own experience, that if you read this book it will change your viewpoint on American slavery.The first stop was at Jefferson’s Monticello in Virginia. This was most interesting to me since I am a serious student of TJ and have visited Monticello myself over 15 times. While there was little new to me in the chapter, for those less familiar with Jefferson, the chapter is a solid intro to the man and how he lived with over a hundred slaves. The chapter did reveal to me that much as at Colonial Williamsburg also in Virginia, much greater emphasis is being placed on discussing the role of enslaved people. I can remember not too long ago when enslaved persons were referred to as “servants,” and were not part of the standard tour guide’s topics of discussion. Now, there are special tours on the enslaved people and substantial publications relating to them as well. The scholarly staff also has been beefed up with outstanding folks.The author next visited the Whitney Plantation in Louisiana. This is an entirely private contribution of one man. The chapter focuses upon how slavery impacted on children, as well as the intimate tie between slavery and the development of the American economy. Many children died of malnutrition, or were killed by their own mothers to spare them the slavery experience. The third stop was the infamous Angola Prison, the state prison in Louisiana. This chapter is a fascinating and depressing discussion of how the state chose to replace liberated slaves by instituting a convict leasing program. This system continues today–prisoners in effect becoming chattel slaves once again.An especially fascinating chapter is based on the Blandford Cemetery, at Petersburg Virginia. This is a Confederate cemetery with 30,000 graves. It is supported by the Sons of Confederate Veterans and the United Daughters of the Confederacy, still extremely active today. The author has picked the cemetery to discuss an important point. These organizations and others have attempted to rewrite history by supporting “the lost cause” movement. This movement paints a happy slaves situation; that the South was invaded by the North; that slavery was just a small part of the Civil War; that few Confederate soldiers owned slaves, and their allegiance arose for other reasons. They are largely responsible for the hundreds of Confederate monuments across the country. The author does a skillful job of refuting these allegations by using the Confederate states’ own Declarations of Secession. If for nothing else, the book is invaluable for exposing the “Lost Cause” to its readers.The most surprising chapter to me, in a book full of surprises, is the one devoted to slavery in New York City. Yes, NYC was not a “good guy” completely different from the South. The author documents the millions of New York slaves, as well as the city’s financing the South’s slavery industries as well as the Atlantic slave trade.. At one point, the second largest slave market in America, after Charleston, was right in Manhattan. Part of Central Park at one time was owned by freed slaves who were forced out. Much of the author’s research is based on a 2005 publication of the NY Historical Society, “Slavery in New York,” with essays by leading historians such as Jill Lapore. Copies have become scarce and I was happy to secure mine. I think it is just indispensable if you are interested in NYC and/or American slavery.An essential volume for those interested in the practices and consequences of American slavery–which should be everybody.
Carole Morris –
I’d like to get a copy of this for everyone I know. I feel as though I’m a fairly well-educated person. This book helped me realize just how much of our true American history was left out of those school lessons. The author delivers these critical facts about chattel slavery with the skill of a classic storyteller, conveying these lessons without feeling like reading a textbook. It was a truly fascinating read and horrific at the same time – as this truth deserves. Highly recommend.
Kelly Madill –
So relevant for our time. America’s past is a painful truth that some would rather deny. This book shows how much of our past is still present today and how racism is weaved through so many facets of American Life. An excellent read for anyone wanting to do the work to educate themselves on the reality of our country.
Leo E. Oliva –
This is the most important book I’ve read about American history this year and in several years. It corrects much of the whitewashed and white-supremacist “history” that is presented in schools and held by too many Americans. People claim we need to tell the truth about our history, and here it is regarding slavery and racism in the United States. It is an outstanding presentation, carefully researched, well written (Smith is also a poet, and some of his prose reads like poetry), and a rare combination of current thoughts (interviews with guides and guests at historic sites) and historical documents.Those who believe that slavery had little to do with the Civil War will find the record set straight from the documents justifying secession and statements of those fighting to defend slavery. The research in historic documents confirms all the research I have done over the years, and I wish this book had been available when I was teaching African-American history at a college where there were no African-Americans on the faculty (and the administration proudly declared there would be none until “forced to do so”).The only omission I found in Smith’s book is the Doctrine of Discovery (established by the church in the 15th and 16th centuries, used to justify colonialism, enslavement, taking the lands of indigenous peoples, and still the law in the United States today). The church is culpable in the enslavement of Africans, but most Americans have never heard of the Doctrine of Discovery (another whitewashing job to cleanse our history). I challenge everyone to read this book and give serious consideration to what it tells us about the history of slavery and racism in the United States. We’ve had enough bogus history.
Tom –
The author had me liking this book from the minute in his writings when he described driving around in New Orleans, and the street names in this city I have always loved. When the statue of Robert E. Lee was taken down from Lee Circle, I questioned why it was necessary, but no more. In thise last year or so many Americans have awakened to the fact that honoring the leaders of the southern rebellion has lent an air of nostalgia for an unworthy cause and empowered the Jim Crow efforts to keep a significant portion of our American People under the thumb of racism. The book convinces me is time for our good country to move on for the sake of us all.
Mo One –
I have been looking for a book like this!! I hope it is used in history classes across the USA. Clint Smith wrote about our American History including events, eras and stories that have been changed, distorted, often purposely erased and left out of text books, plaques, statues, museums and other places of remembrance. Excellent read!!
P. Howard –
Not a difficult book to read, which lends itself to being read by a wide range of people.Interesting and informative. It is a good introduction for readers who are still in denial about America standing firmly on the foundation of Chattel Slavery, it allows them to wade in.
Kindle Customer –
This book documents the author’s personal journey of discovery through the history of slavery in America. Clint Smith writes compellingly of how the USA was shaped and formed by the institution of slavery. Through accounts of his visits to historic US plantations, prisons, slave markets, as well as museums and source locations in Africa, Mr Smith paints a vivid, horrifying, shameful picture of the complicity of both slave and free states in participating, condoning, and perpetuating the subjugation of slaves many long years after other countries had abolished the abominal practice. But more importantly, how the legacy of slavery is still poisoning our political, economic, psychological, social, historical, and cultural climate to this very day. This book should be required reading for every American. Prepare to be shocked, appalled, disgusted, angered, sickened, saddened, and emotionally distressed. But we simply cannot afford to ignore this, or continue to lie to ourselves any longer. This is not cancel culture, it’s time we face the truth about our shameful history, so we can stop perpetuating its negative effects on future generations!Very well written, researched, and documented. Hard to put down.
Mitch Smith. –
Smith has written a book that should be included in every history curriculum in the country. He exposes the whitewashing of history we’ve all been victims of throughout our lives, up unto today. It is a hard book to read, especially for an old, Southern, white man like myself, but it is a necessary one for me to read.
busy mom –
Awesome, thoughtful. Not an easy read. A wonderful extension of his “Black American History” series on Patreon. Makes me want to visit all of these places. And not at all the history I learned in college at a top school.
Shruti Kuber –
As somebody who didn’t grow up in America and was only taught maybe in over chapter of history about slavery, this book opens a completely new world. I have learnt just so much about the history of slavery and how even today we still see the repercussions. A must read for everyone.
Sheila Gallagher –
This looks at the history of slavery by looking at places where it was practiced and a legacy remains–Monticello, Whitney Plantation, Angola Prison, New York City, Blandford Cemetary, Galveston Island, and Senegal. There are many more places that could be looked at for their stories.I learned a lot. My eyes were opened. Some I knew but most I did not. Now I cannot stay in ignorance any more. While I have not been to Monticello in over 20 years, I want to go back to hear what is now being taught. I have not been to any of the other places Mr. Smith shares the stories from. I have a lot to process and to assimilate with what I know and have learned outside of school.There is a lot of new information coming out from the voices of the oppressed and forgotten. I appreciate their voices being added to what was taught. I can form new opinions based on what I read and learn. We are only now getting a more complete picture of what happened in the past. I can get a more complete and realistic version of what occurred.If we don’t learn from history, we will repeat it. I see that happening so much currently. This is a book I wish I had read when I was younger. It explains things so much clearer than the old history textbooks I had 50 years ago.
Col. Kilgore Trout –
How the Word is Passed should be required reading for every single American, especially those who believe we live in a post-racial America. Smith is an incredible writer whose prose is descriptive and poetic at the same time. One of the people he encountered in the book said “History is written by the perpetrators” and that especially applies to the history of slavery and its long lasting impact on the USA. I cannot recommend this book enough.
Rene Ramirez –
Very enlightening
Eaine Hutton –
I chose a five star rating for this book because it fills in so many blanks in my 81 year old memory bank. I was raised by. my paternal grandmother and her father was 12 years old when slaves were set free. The plantations, the prisons, the stories of the Klan all ring true. Today I recognize how strong and brave my ancestors were and any courage I possess is because I walk in their shoes. Like Clint ‘s grandmother, I lived through it. I was a part of the history of the civil rights movement of the 20th century. I will not back down and continue to fight for truth and recognition of my people’s contribution to the American story.
Jeannette –
How the Word Is Passed; A Reckoning with the History of Slavery Across America by Clint Smith is a remarkable book; accurate, based on research and well documented, but deeply moving. Smith offers truths that are difficult to face which reveal the impact African slave trade had on the development of the United States. The basis of the enslavement of the indigenous people of the America’s, and then the people of Africa was the assumption of Europeans that they were superior to the people of the lands they “discovered” and therefore had the right to overpower, kidnap and enslave them. The reality of the history is depressing, but Clint writes with compassion and beauty in prose that is poetic.
M. Yakovich –
Clint Smith is a hell of a good writer for a poet! The research that went into this book is outstanding. It reads like a story, not a history book. You learn some history that has been hidden or over written by others stories. For those of us who are willing to hear the hard truth, this book speaks to our hearts and our conscience. We don’t need to carry the guilt of our ancestors for slavery, but we should acknowledge the truth of what those ancestors did, the evilness of it and the ignorance it inspired. Instead of covering up and changing the narrative, we can learn the truth and rectify the hateful legacy they left. A must read. Sure to make the banned list!
Mark De Groot –
This is simply a must read if you want to talk respectfully about the history of America and the African American experience. While there are many other books, not reading this book is disingenuous to saying you are an American.
Gnomestead –
Clint Smith (writer for The Atlantic) is a stellar voice. His thorough historical research, unique insights (including sensory impressions of the sites he visited), and poetic voice give me a deeper understanding of the history of this sensitive topic. As a white, middle-aged person, that is invaluable to me. It’s never too late to gain greater understanding of historical paths which, though they intertwine, also differ.
Amazon Customer –
QOTD: What’s a book you wish were required reading?How the Word is Passed was phenomenal. In my opinion, it is essential and should be required reading. It was an easy five star read, and my top ten nonfiction book of all time. From the first page to the very last, I was in awe of Smith’s ability to blend his own insight, research, writing, and history. It was poetic. I felt like I was next to him as he traveled to the different historical sites throughout.Earlier this year, Yellow Wife by Sadeqa Johnson took booksta by storm. I couldn’t help but feel they pair well together.Quotes that stood out:“I’ve come to realize that there’s a difference between history and nostalgia, and somewhere between those two is memory,” he said. “I think that history is the story of the past, using all the available facts, and that nostalgia is a fantasy about the past using no facts, and somewhere in between is memory…””We can’t continue to view enslaved people only through the lens of what happened to them… We have to talk about who they were, we have to talk about their resiliency, we have to talk about their resistance, we have to talk about their strength, their determination, and the fact that they passed down legacies.””But there is enermous value in providing young people with the language, the history, and the framework to identify why their society looks they way it does. Understanding that all of this was done not by accident but by design. That did not strip me of agency, it gave agency back to me.”
Federico Salviche –
Great perspective from Clint. Understanding both stories does provide an overall idea. Highly recommend it to everyone. To look back helps you understand the behaviors of today.If Clint ever reads this – “Great work man! Truly, great work”
Amazon Customer –
This book is in excellent condition!
Amazon Customer –
QOTD: What’s a book you wish were required reading?How the Word is Passed was phenomenal. In my opinion, it is essential and should be required reading. It was an easy five star read, and my top ten nonfiction book of all time. From the first page to the very last, I was in awe of Smith’s ability to blend his own insight, research, writing, and history. It was poetic. I felt like I was next to him as he traveled to the different historical sites throughout.Earlier this year, Yellow Wife by Sadeqa Johnson took booksta by storm. I couldn’t help but feel they pair well together.Quotes that stood out:“I’ve come to realize that there’s a difference between history and nostalgia, and somewhere between those two is memory,” he said. “I think that history is the story of the past, using all the available facts, and that nostalgia is a fantasy about the past using no facts, and somewhere in between is memory…””We can’t continue to view enslaved people only through the lens of what happened to them… We have to talk about who they were, we have to talk about their resiliency, we have to talk about their resistance, we have to talk about their strength, their determination, and the fact that they passed down legacies.””But there is enermous value in providing young people with the language, the history, and the framework to identify why their society looks they way it does. Understanding that all of this was done not by accident but by design. That did not strip me of agency, it gave agency back to me.”
Otto L. Lecuona –
The author has a very engaging style which urges one to keep reading. The material covered certainly makes one think. Learning how the labor of the people in the plantations and Northern states also built up the economic power of the country. Laid the foundation for us now.The cotton, sugar, etc that went north destined to Europe built us up. The north was not innocent.The treatments described really make you wonder about what the values if our country and Europeans really encompassed. Why did the Europeans believe themselves superior and have the right take people from home to work in the America so they could make money from there labor.
Sally Jones –
We need to hear this and it is very readable ,so it helps .I know the history I was taught in school missed so much and dis – missed so much more and this alone fosters a continuation of a legacy shackled still but in a different form . We are stunted , perhaps all shackled until we honestly face and embrace our real American history.
Victoria –
Clint Smith weaves together factual history, storytelling, and artful prose to create a harrowing narrative about the history of our country and how it has shaped us all in the modern day. His honest and reflective rendering of this history highlights the humanity – both good and bad – of his interviewees as well as the human beings on all sides of the trans-Atlantic slave trade. Smith does not shy away from the realities of this dark time in world history, and he opens the door for honest dialogue and a path toward true reckoning. I am grateful for this book.
Brooke Freiheit –
A book everyone should read and sit with. Beautifully written stories and interviews by Smith detailing places connected to slavery and enslaved people in America. I read most of it out loud to my husband, not being able to wait for him to read it to share history I did not know about, but history I should have. As a 30 year old, I can no longer use the excuse “I should have learned this in school,” but instead take ownership in my learning and take steps to further my own education. This book is definitely one to pull off the shelf.
Jackie Newman –
This is not an easy book to read. Sure, it’s well written and the language flows over you easily as you dive in. But the history is difficult to read. It is necessary history. Vital, even. But it is not easy to have human cruelty laid out in such stark terms.I am incredibly grateful to this author for writing this book. I have passed it around in the family and recommend it to friends. Only by confronting how slavery and brutality are baked into this country in every conceivable way can we ever hope to enact the changes needed to prevent future harm.Read the book. Listen to the interviews with the author on NPR. Share the book with others. And use what you learned to make our society better.
Neecii E –
This book is an eye opener, game changer, and although I have 3 chapters left, It has taken me on a journey, not only of my past, but America’s and the entire world. It’s a must read for EVERY ONE! And now, we all need to begin this journey or changing the game. It is broken and needs to be fix. United we stand…for ALL. I’m glad i purchased this, as my daughter told me to check out Dr. Clint Interview on a Podcast, and I was so intrigued, i purchased one book for her and one for myself. GREAT READ!! 5Plus STAR RATING!!
StratCat –
Dr. Smith said in a recent interview that some people don’t know and some people don’t want to know. This is a book for those who don’t know the history of slavery in America and its continued profound impact on all aspects of our society, and it’s likely that those who think they know actually don’t. As a history-lover who was raised in Atlanta and believed myself well-versed in this subject, I realized that there is far more to it than I thought.Dr. Smith brings the reader to areas that demonstrate what slavery was and how it continues to influence us 150 years later. Beginning in Monticello and discussing how recently Jefferson’s true story was uncovered and presented, he then takes us to Whitney Plantation where the emphasis is on the slaves instead of the building; Angola Prison to see how incarceration is often a continuation of slavery; Blandford Cemetery to explore how many people refuse to acknowledge the root cause of the Civil War so they can glorify the Confederacy; Galveston Island to discuss the struggle we continue to face after slavery “ended”; New York City to demonstrate that slavery impacted all Americans and not just Southerners; and Goree Island in Senegal to explain how the story reaches beyond our country. He closes by recounting conversations with his grandparents showing that history is personal, inside each of us, and embodied in our family stories and legacies. Throughout this tour we see that slavery is not in the distant past–Dr. Smith notes that his grandfather’s grandfather was born into slavery, and that our country had slavery for 250 years but has only been without it for 150 years–and remains embedded in our society in ways we either don’t realize or overlook.The uniqueness of this book largely comes from Dr. Smith being both a poet and a historian. His mastery of language takes us not only to the sites through the use of powerful evocative imagery, but allows us to reflect on the experience of an enslaved person. He notes that while stories are often told about Frederick Douglass and Harriet Tubman, they were extraordinary individuals; what about the average person like us? What’s their story? Dr. Smith’s doctorate in history means that he can explain the importance of each site, find the errors in how stories are told, and share documents (usually primary source) that explain the truth behind the presentations. His training also means he doesn’t allow himself the easy way out; yes he shows that the Civil War really was about slavery, but he also notes that the House of Slaves and Door of No Return on Goree Island are probably not accurately portrayed either,While history books are typically written in the third person with an objective bent (in theory if not reality, since history is never objectively told), Dr. Smith puts himself squarely in the story. He explains how it feels to sit in the electric chair in Angola and shares a narrative from someone who experienced a failed execution; he crawls into solitary confinement in Angola and on Goree Island to image how that could break someone; he shares his incredulous anger at the Angola gift shop (with coffee mugs calling it a “gated community”). He re-uses one of his poems to describe a Black child running on streets named after Confederate Generals and what that signifies. He also talks to people, including multiple tour guides, fellow visitors to Monticello (who were history buffs but had no idea Jefferson owned slaves), and–in a particularly powerful scene–attendees at a Sons of Confederate Veterans event at Blandford Cemetery where he legitimately wants to understand their points of view. Dr. Smith is empathic in all of these situations but also holds people accountable for their actions and beliefs. He doesn’t argue with people, but presents information and lets them decide what to do with it. He does this with the reader as well.This book arrives at a time when arguments regarding Critical Race Theory are embroiling our country. State legislators and congressional representatives are attempting to abolish all teaching that suggests systemic racism exists in this country. While this book conclusively demonstrates that this hypothesis is false, I find one example particularly powerful. Angola Prison–which is the largest maximum security prison in the US, and the size of Manhattan–is located on a former plantation. Seventy percent of its prisoners are black, with an average sentence of 87 years. Many of its prisoners were convicted by a non-unanimous jury, which is now unconstitutional. Prisoners work the fields for seven cents an hour and are watched over by armed guards on horseback. Dr. Smith notes, “If in Germany today there were a prison built on top of a former concentration camp, and that prison disproportionately incarcerated Jewish people, it would rightly provoke outrage through the world.” Somehow, in the US this is not only accepted but worthy of commemorating on a coffee mug and tee-shirts. Slavery and its effects remain strong in this country.We have work to do.
A. Sparks –
Very informative and heart-wrenching. Put it on your Must-Read list!
David Allen –
Rarely do you find such a read that in totality picks apart so well the race story in this country. I learned soooooo much; shockingly detailed through beautiful writing. Each chapter was surprisingly unique in story. Read it for a better world.
MoMadison –
I learned a lot from Clint Smith’s retelling of his travels. He is forthright in his explanations. His history of slavery is unlikely other books I’ve read on the subject. Beginning with Monticello, through the Whitney Plantation, Angola Prison, Blandford Cemetery and the Blue Door, it was all a revelation to me. Held my interest to the last page. I intend to read this again, soon.
K. DiGeorge –
I first heard Clint Smith speak on an Unlocking Us podcast with Brene Brown. As a 58 year old white woman I am interested in understanding the systemic racism in our country. I’m devouring books like The Warmth of Other Suns and Caste by Isabelle Isabelle Wilkerson, and Stamped from the Beginning by Ibram Kendi. How the Word is Past is different in the way the author educates us through both the guides at each location and his experience as a Black man. Each location provides insights to the foundation and perpetuation of racism in America. Thank you to the author for taking me on this journey! It was well worth it.
cmg298 –
This is the best book I have read this year. The writing is brilliant and feeling uncomfortable with what is there is so important to the work. The amazing connections between the places he wrote about and similarities while being very distant from each other strengthened the story. I highly recommend this work.
Dr Elliot M. Kirstein –
Important. Probably a mandatory read for anyone who cares enough to want to try to understand. The truth is painful. The truth is necessary. Jews, in a similar reflection of the 20th century say “never forget”. It is, in saying that, about forgiving, understanding and preventing, at all cost, it’s recurrance.
Dave Aardappel –
After reading this book, you will be challenged, motivated and so much better informed. Great writer. I purchased both his books of poetry and am glad I did.
Hazel –
This book taught me history with each chapter. I was captivated by the research that went into writing this book. I was happy the author traveled beyond the US to compile the information needed to inform, educate and tell the truth of the history of this country. Don’t be afraid to read this book, to be surprised, uncomfortable, upset, and finally be relieved someone took the time to simply tell the Truth.
AuntAlva –
Each chapter had new information and insights. There was only one chapter where the author was a bit “preachy.” I learned a lot. African American history is American history. All of us need to understand this history.
L. Iza –
This book was so informative. As a white southern woman whose ancestors were slave owners and as was an educator who grew up in the sixties, I can honestly say that many of the facts and information presented in this book was so very new to me. We cannot change history but we do have a great responsibility to be informed and to pass on what we learned throughout our lives to the next generation.
BooksbyWendy –
There was a season in my life, when I stopped reading books. I was working full time, helping to raise 3 children and maintain a home and marriage. In the past 2 years, I’ve probably read more books than I have in the past 10 years, mainly books about our racial past and present. Each book has its own flavor and has impacted me in various ways. This book has educated me about longstanding myths, such as New York’s history, and existing plantations who have made active decisions to rip off the facade of lies about their history. I also have a deeper understanding of how the history and present of many African nations are connected to our history, and how some of them feel about that and are communicating that history. This book should be read by every American who wants to know truth, and wants to continue to grow as a person. This should be required reading for high school and college. It’s accessible for all, and will definitely impact all who read it.
Amazon Customer –
I learned so many things from this book that I was not taught in school and I’m sure my children are not being taught today. I am inspired to go visit some of the places the author visited and shared in this book.
Live2Read –
I so appreciate how engaging the author made this book. It is a book I want to read over and over and know that each time I read it I will glean more awareness and understanding of the role slavery and the ways we have learned about it continues to shape all of us who are Americans
Emily Elia –
This is the best work of non-fiction I have ever read. I am in awe of Smith’s ability to weave how we reckon with history, lived experience and memory into a compelling narrative and some of the best and most visceral prose I will ever read. This is a book that will permanently change how you think.
imlms –
While I must admit that this book is difficult to read because of how badly enslaved people were treated, I think everyone should read this book as it points out the discrepancies of what we are taught about our country’s history. Clint Smith is a wonderful writer, and you can tell he thoroughly researched this topic. Knowing the unvarnished version helps us understand why race relations in this country is in such a poor state. Hopefully if more people know the truth, we can begin to understand how we can reach a time when the color of person’s skin does not equate to how he or she should be treated.
Lindsey Grace –
I chose this book to complete a “chart topper” challenge on Kindle. I am incredibly grateful I did. Wow…. this book will make you uncomfortable and sick to your stomach but will absolutely leave you wanting to learn more. It is absurd how many simple facts they don’t teach us in school about black history, slavery and even about our presidents and land marks. For instance, the information about Wall Street and Central Park. The disgusting irony of that being the upper class neighborhoods nowadays. In school, Jefferson and Lee were taught in a completely different light. So much that has been left buried but needs to be dug up and taught to everyone. It is no wonder systematic racism still exists….. because people don’t want to have the uncomfortable conversations of how to fix it and what got America here to begin with. I will most definitely recommend this book to everyone and continue to broaden my own education from this point forward. I currently live in Va and want to make it a point to go visit Monticello now to see the Hemings exhibit. I am so glad Smith wrote this book and I happened upon it on Kindle.
Ravi C. –
How do we reckon with history? What do we remember? How do we tell the truth to ourselves? Clint Smith’s book is a wonderful, poetic visitation of monuments relating to slavery in this country and also in Senegal. He also relates his grandparents memories as well, their lived experiences of bigotry and racism. Highly recommended.
Gabrielle Robinson, Author of Api’s Berlin Diaries –
In How the Word is Passed Clint Smith takes the reader on a powerful and emotional cross-country journey to show that “the history of slavery is the history of the United States. It was not peripheral to our founding: it was central to it.” The history and stories of places like Monticello, Angola Prison, Blandford Cemetery, and New York City which once had one the largest slave markets on Wall Street prove his point. His account demonstrates not merely the central role of slavery in the past but its fierce legacy until today which still felt deeply from the deep South to the North.All long Smith records the memories and experiences of people he meets on his journeys from tour guides to visitors. At the Whitney Plantation, a place that stands out for its dedication to telling the truth about slavery, the tour guide wants visitors to hear not only about the family separations, rapes, and enforced breeding slaves had to endure, but also appreciate their resilience and intelligence, their love and support of each other since that, too, is a legacy passed down through generations. These stories make us feel viscerally, as Smith does himself, the impact of that history on our lives today. “So much of the story we tell about our history is really the story we tell about ourselves,” which makes me think of James Baldwin’s statement that “We carry our history with us. We are our history.”The message of How the Word is Passed is clear: we cannot move forward as a country unless we reckon with the history of slavery and counter “all the ways this country attempts to smother conversations about how the past shapes the present.” It is a message never more vital than under today’s pressures to suppress and distort that history.Gabrielle Robinson, Author
cmg298 –
This is the best book I have read this year. The writing is brilliant and feeling uncomfortable with what is there is so important to the work. The amazing connections between the places he wrote about and similarities while being very distant from each other strengthened the story. I highly recommend this work.
Chi Chan –
In the 1950s, when Hannah Arendt was researching into how politics can make ordinary, god-fearing citizens into hate filled monsters, she needed to look no further than her adopted homeland of America under Jim Crow.Rather than bludgeoning the reader with atrocities and injustice at every sentence, Clint Smith through his words act as a sincere guide to take the reader through a journey to a more truthful understanding of the soul of America. In this book, Smith jumped between hard-hitting historical facts and dreamy travelogue, making the uncomfortable truths he presented much more palatable. His voyage of reckoning spared no one, from the founding fathers to New York City, all the way to Africa. Yet Smith made it clear that he doesn’t want the reader to be paralyzed by guilt or victimhood. Instead Smith wishes America would fully confront the whitewashing and rewriting of history that has gone on since it’s inception to finally fulfil the high ideals that the country was founded upon. It is as close to be a perfect book for it’s subject as it can be.
DMB –
“The history of slavery is the history of the United States. It was not peripheral to our founding; it was central to it. It is not irrelevant to our contemporary society; it created it. This history is in our soil, it is in our policies, and it must, too, be in our memories.”Dr. Smith’s journey across historic sites and both sides of the Mason-Dixie and the Atlantic Ocean explore that relationship.This book is powerful. Poetic. Beautiful. Painful. Provocative. Real.As I read, I felt battered and a bit unmoored, as I realized how fundamental and pervasive slavery was and is to the American story. It is not part of our story; it is the story, in the sense that without it, our country would be unrecognizable.Dr. Smith’s words also inspire me. To remember. To recgnize. To be better. To help America live out the full meaning of her creed that “all…are created equal'” driven by a belief that we an have “liberty and justice for all.”
A. Sparks –
Very informative and heart-wrenching. Put it on your Must-Read list!
Michelle Luke –
How the Word is Passed is an important book that all should read. It grounds the current experience of us all BIPOC and white in the history many did not learn in school. The writing is clear, powerful, honest and thought provoking in a way that sticks with the reader and places opportunity for reflection and relearning in your hands.