Reviews
How the Word Is Passed: A Reckoning with the History of Slavery Across America by Clint Smith
halcyon_nights's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
4.0
I wasn't aware of the structure the author framed the book around so, at first, I wasn't sure about continuing with the book. But the author managed to convince me of why reflecting upon these historical sights and how the narrative was being told was important and how that affected the people whose story it -accurately or not- told.
I'm not American so a lot of the information in this book is new and shocking and disheartening. I do consume a lot of American content and media and this book helped me reconcile all the messaging I was getting during the critical race theory debate and just why it's important to still remember history instead of letting sleeping dogs lie still. That's because history shapes the reality we live in and a lot of Americans live in dissonance with their reality.
A lot of the people that end in jail are black but why are they? What is the system that produces these people (some of which are innocent, not to mention) and just how recent was this system in place? What form does this system now take on? The book doesn't specifically answer these questions but it persuades the reader to pause and reflect, consider the continuous chain of history, and how it still lives in Americans today.
The author was obviously biased to the narratives that acknowledged and elevated the truths of slavery and put them in center focus in plantation tours. Even the way he would describe people and voice-act their statements (I listened to the audiobook narrated by the author) is subtly different when it's people he agrees with and people he doesn't. The author acknowledges his biases in the end of the book and I don't think such a book needs to be neutral to be taken seriously. The author backs his statements with research and documents--he only persuades the reader to confront those stories and facts we do know are true and to make sure they are not forgotten.
The only negative thing that prevented me from giving it an arbitrary 5 stars is that I wasn't a huge fan of the author's style and description. One of the common things he did -and a pet peeve of mine- was to describe the physical appearance of every single person he met and talked to. Every single one, sometimes using unflattering descriptors. I do not understand the compulsion to describe people in so much journalistic fiction and it only slowed down the text. I'm sure I do not ever want to be interviewed by the author so I won't have to read a strange description of my physical appearance or my socially anxious fidgeting, thank you.
There are also long passages describing the physical setting and, although I don't mind the description being used to ground the reader in the physicality of the place, it did run too long.
I'm not American so a lot of the information in this book is new and shocking and disheartening. I do consume a lot of American content and media and this book helped me reconcile all the messaging I was getting during the critical race theory debate and just why it's important to still remember history instead of letting sleeping dogs lie still. That's because history shapes the reality we live in and a lot of Americans live in dissonance with their reality.
A lot of the people that end in jail are black but why are they? What is the system that produces these people (some of which are innocent, not to mention) and just how recent was this system in place? What form does this system now take on? The book doesn't specifically answer these questions but it persuades the reader to pause and reflect, consider the continuous chain of history, and how it still lives in Americans today.
The author was obviously biased to the narratives that acknowledged and elevated the truths of slavery and put them in center focus in plantation tours. Even the way he would describe people and voice-act their statements (I listened to the audiobook narrated by the author) is subtly different when it's people he agrees with and people he doesn't. The author acknowledges his biases in the end of the book and I don't think such a book needs to be neutral to be taken seriously. The author backs his statements with research and documents--he only persuades the reader to confront those stories and facts we do know are true and to make sure they are not forgotten.
The only negative thing that prevented me from giving it an arbitrary 5 stars is that I wasn't a huge fan of the author's style and description. One of the common things he did -and a pet peeve of mine- was to describe the physical appearance of every single person he met and talked to. Every single one, sometimes using unflattering descriptors. I do not understand the compulsion to describe people in so much journalistic fiction and it only slowed down the text. I'm sure I do not ever want to be interviewed by the author so I won't have to read a strange description of my physical appearance or my socially anxious fidgeting, thank you.
There are also long passages describing the physical setting and, although I don't mind the description being used to ground the reader in the physicality of the place, it did run too long.
leahgustafson's review against another edition
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
This beautifully written piece of nonfiction demonstrates how the institution of slavery is so intricately woven into our systems and daily lives. How the Word Is Passed should be required reading in American schools.
•
While it may sound strange for nonfiction, Clint Smith is a masterful storyteller. The way he depicts the history of the places he visits and how he confronts the truths about history and slavery is both moving and profound. The stories in this book make it so much more real, relatable, and accessible. The accessibility of this book is why I feel it has the ability to makesuch a strong impact.
•
I learned a lot from this book. It also led me to reflect on and think more deeply about a lot of things—on my current beliefs, my own education and experiences, and some new perspectives shared in this book.
•
If you’re looking for some solid nonfiction to add to your TBR, this is definitely some of the best I’ve read! The audio is also fantastic—Clint Smith narrates his own work, and his ability to share these stories is incredible!
•
Check out what I’m reading next on Instagram @LeahsLitReview!
Check out what I’m reading next on Instagram @LeahsLitReview!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Slavery and Racism
Moderate: Rape
tanzipanzi's review against another edition
"history is the story of the past, using all the available facts, and that nostalgia is a fantasy about the past using not facts, and somewhere in between is memory" - David Thorson
"White sugar means black misery"
jbmorgan86's review against another edition
5.0
“This 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.”
How the Word is Passed is equal parts travel memoir and history analysis. Clint Smith, poet and journalist for The Atlantic, travels to places with historical links to slavery: Monticello, Eli Whitney’s Plantation, Angola Prison, Blandford Cemetery (the largest Confederate cemetery), Galveston Island (the setting of the Juneteenth proclamation), New York City, and Gorée Island (off the coast of Senegal. At each of these places, Smith does the official tours, interviews the tour guides, and, most interestingly to me, interviews his fellow tourists.
I first discovered Clint Smith as a poet while teaching a poetry unit at school. I was pleased when I found out that he also a journalist. His poetic ways show through in his prose. His choice of words and imagery and the way he can turn a phrase keeps this book from becoming a stale history retelling.
This an important and highly recommended work.
How the Word is Passed is equal parts travel memoir and history analysis. Clint Smith, poet and journalist for The Atlantic, travels to places with historical links to slavery: Monticello, Eli Whitney’s Plantation, Angola Prison, Blandford Cemetery (the largest Confederate cemetery), Galveston Island (the setting of the Juneteenth proclamation), New York City, and Gorée Island (off the coast of Senegal. At each of these places, Smith does the official tours, interviews the tour guides, and, most interestingly to me, interviews his fellow tourists.
I first discovered Clint Smith as a poet while teaching a poetry unit at school. I was pleased when I found out that he also a journalist. His poetic ways show through in his prose. His choice of words and imagery and the way he can turn a phrase keeps this book from becoming a stale history retelling.
This an important and highly recommended work.
professor_x's review against another edition
5.0
This was a work of art and great art can invoke emotions. It makes you think, makes you ponder. It changes the way you see the world. You can gain insight into someone else’s thoughts. “Walk a mile in their shoes” as the saying goes.
Clint Smith does a spectacular job doing just that. He illustrates in poetic detail the sites he visits in America and Africa and elucidates how these locations made him feel as a black man. Some of the sites, like Thomas Jefferson’s plantation, acknowledge its dark history; others like Louisiana State Penitentiary, also known as Angola, seem to obfuscate the truth. America is still reeling from its turbulent past. As Smith says, we often see black and white footage of people being beaten by police or being sprayed with water hoses and forget that this was reality in the U.S. only a couple of decades ago.
The final chapter touched me the most. Smith visits the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington D.C. with his grandparents. After their tour, he begins to ask them what they thought of the exhibits and how they felt. Their answers and the memories that bubble up of the Jim Crow south are heart-wrenching. I can’t imagine what it was like living in constant fear of being beaten. Or lynched. Looking at a white person the wrong way was enough to have you killed.
I chose to listen to the audiobook after watching Clint Smith narrate the Youtube series Crash Course Black History. He is a wonderful speaker and an amazing writer, and I look forward to his future work. Everyone should read this, especially given the current circumstances in America. It is important that we reckon with this history. Black history is American history. Chattel slavery was foundational in the creation of America. We cannot hide from it. Education is the key to freedom.
Clint Smith does a spectacular job doing just that. He illustrates in poetic detail the sites he visits in America and Africa and elucidates how these locations made him feel as a black man. Some of the sites, like Thomas Jefferson’s plantation, acknowledge its dark history; others like Louisiana State Penitentiary, also known as Angola, seem to obfuscate the truth. America is still reeling from its turbulent past. As Smith says, we often see black and white footage of people being beaten by police or being sprayed with water hoses and forget that this was reality in the U.S. only a couple of decades ago.
The final chapter touched me the most. Smith visits the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington D.C. with his grandparents. After their tour, he begins to ask them what they thought of the exhibits and how they felt. Their answers and the memories that bubble up of the Jim Crow south are heart-wrenching. I can’t imagine what it was like living in constant fear of being beaten. Or lynched. Looking at a white person the wrong way was enough to have you killed.
I chose to listen to the audiobook after watching Clint Smith narrate the Youtube series Crash Course Black History. He is a wonderful speaker and an amazing writer, and I look forward to his future work. Everyone should read this, especially given the current circumstances in America. It is important that we reckon with this history. Black history is American history. Chattel slavery was foundational in the creation of America. We cannot hide from it. Education is the key to freedom.
zosiablue's review against another edition
challenging
informative
sad
medium-paced
4.25
Incredibly powerful and personal. The author visits sites around US (and one in Africa) to explore those places' relationships with slavery. Most of the history I didn't know, including the chapter about the cemetery a mile from my parents' house, one I drove by every day on my last visit. The Angola prison section was especially shocking to me; I didn't know there was a gift shop attached to the prison mocking its cruelty. I also appreciated how the author was open about his own gaps here - parts he didn't know or details he focused on that later he realized weren't important. Smith is a poet, so occasionally the writing got a little purple, but not enough to detract. An important book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Slavery, Genocide, Hate crime, Kidnapping, Racial slurs, Classism, Colonisation, and Racism
Moderate: Violence, Torture, Physical abuse, and Grief
jlyons's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
informative
reflective
medium-paced
4.75