A review by ashlightgrayson
How the Word Is Passed: A Reckoning with the History of Slavery Across America by Clint Smith

challenging dark informative medium-paced

5.0


I wish I had discovered this book sooner. I looked into it later, and the author wrote this as a PhD student. All I have to say to that is what a wonderful academic piece it is! Clint Smith traveled to different historical planatations throughout the country and did extensive research on both the history and the legacy of these historical sites. He interviewed people that had loyalties to the Confederate flag as well as people that had direct connections to those enslaved on these plantations. He explores the hypocrisy behind a lot of plantation owners, including Thomas Jefferson who defended liberty yet enslaved hundreds of people. 

Smith is a poet, and it manifests in his writing. Listening to the audiobook narrated by him brought his work to life. The writing style is both impactful and informative. He intermittently inserts relevant anectdotes related to his own life and his family's experiences with the Jim Crow South. This helps make the facts feel more tangible and relatable. He puts into perspective that both slavery and Jim Crow laws did not end too long ago in the grand scheme of things. This was an incredibly poetic exploration of the history of plantations in the United States. The author, Clint Smith, was doing research pertaining to his PhD when he wrote this. He is a poet and it shows through the prose used in his writing. The prose is digestable and flows like poetry as you read it at certain points. Smith sprinkle anecdotes of his family's own history with the Jim Crow South and how it affected their opportunites and how they were treated. 

Thomas Jefferson is one of the primary figures Smith explores who advocated for the freedom of man whilst owning hundreds of enslaved people himself. There are many examples of this in United States history some of which is explored in the text. Abraham Lincoln had the political interests of the Union at the forefront of his mind rather than the freedom of enslaved black people. Smith provides many historical examples that brings realism to these historical figures and takes them off of the pedestal that they are often put on. 

The most interesting part to me was listening to Smith tie in some of our modern problems of poverty, housing shortages, mass incarceration, and the racial inequality of the past and present. A lot of aspects of the Jim Crow South and slavery are sometimes referenced as if it happened long ago, when we in fact, continue to see the impacts of it today. This is by far one of the best books I have read this year. I recommend it to anyone who wants a respectful and well researched work pertaining to Civil War and Jim Crow South history.
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