Reviews

A must read for anyone interested in participating in an honest, thoughtful and necessarily uncomfortable conversation about the legacy of enslavement in America. Clint Smith is an incredible writer and his approach—to consider the history of slavery and race through the monuments and museums built to consider its legacy—is clear-eyed, open-minded and unflinching. He speaks both to historical sources and his own experiences, making this book both thoroughly informative and profoundly personal. The audiobook, read by the author, is a wonderful listen. I loved every bit of it.

persephoneh's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad fast-paced

5.0

kallmekirby's review against another edition

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This book absolutely broke my heart. I always thought I was fairly well - educated on the true and horrible aspects of American history because I’ve sought out that knowledge but this book showed me just how much I didn’t know and how far America still has to go to reckon with it’s history of slavery and inequality. I’ll be thinking about this book for a long time and I plan to read other similar books this year. My heart hurts after reading this one.

glick's review against another edition

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challenging informative medium-paced

5.0

Fascinating look into how museums frame history and how this shapes cultural understanding. Very digestible and a good balance between the author’s experience of visiting and the site’s history. Has changed the lens I (white woman) read/experience museums, historical markers, etc.

bcat0124's review against another edition

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challenging emotional informative reflective medium-paced

5.0

gracepickering's review

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dark emotional inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

5.0

batesbarb's review

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challenging emotional informative reflective medium-paced

5.0

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