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A review by mweis
How the Word Is Passed: A Reckoning with the History of Slavery Across America by Clint Smith
challenging
emotional
informative
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
This has been on my TBR since it was released, but a conversation with a NPS Ranger at Spotsylvania Court House convinced me to get to it sooner rather than later and wow was he so right.
Part memoir, part history, part travelogue, Clint Smith takes the reader on a tour of monuments dedicated to the history of slavery in the United States (including Gorée Island in Senegal). Along the way he talks with people about the locations and what has or has not been done to reconcile with uncomfortable truths about U.S. history.
Smith is a poet and his way with words is apparent in this writing. I had intended on taking my time with this and reading a chapter a day, but once I picked it up I could t put it back down. I will absolutely be returning to this again and again. In my opinion, this is a must read!
Part memoir, part history, part travelogue, Clint Smith takes the reader on a tour of monuments dedicated to the history of slavery in the United States (including Gorée Island in Senegal). Along the way he talks with people about the locations and what has or has not been done to reconcile with uncomfortable truths about U.S. history.
Smith is a poet and his way with words is apparent in this writing. I had intended on taking my time with this and reading a chapter a day, but once I picked it up I could t put it back down. I will absolutely be returning to this again and again. In my opinion, this is a must read!