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A review by realadhdoug
How the Word Is Passed: A Reckoning with the History of Slavery Across America by Clint Smith
5.0
I don’t know quite how to articulate how simultaneously informative and moving this book is. It’s probably best for you to just start it and see for yourself. What Smith has done is truly remarkable—seamlessly blending poetry, memoir, history, and investigative reporting in a way that just sucks you in and lulls you into completing the journey regardless of the expectations you had going in.
Very basically, the book is about Smith’s travels to different sites across US (and one in Africa) that hold significance for the history of slavery and legacy of racism in the United States. While reflecting on these landmarks, dialoguing with the people he encounters, and referencing various scholarly sources where applicable, Smith tells a story of slavery in the US in a way that it hasn’t quite been told before—a way that viscerally connects the history to the real, concrete places still around today and the people who inhabit them.
I cannot recommend this book highly enough. But seriously, just start reading. I promise you won’t be able to put it down.
Very basically, the book is about Smith’s travels to different sites across US (and one in Africa) that hold significance for the history of slavery and legacy of racism in the United States. While reflecting on these landmarks, dialoguing with the people he encounters, and referencing various scholarly sources where applicable, Smith tells a story of slavery in the US in a way that it hasn’t quite been told before—a way that viscerally connects the history to the real, concrete places still around today and the people who inhabit them.
I cannot recommend this book highly enough. But seriously, just start reading. I promise you won’t be able to put it down.