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A review by caseythereader
How the Word Is Passed: A Reckoning with the History of Slavery Across America by Clint Smith
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
- I'm not sure if there's anything I can add to the discussion of HOW THE WORD IS PASSED, other than to concur with everyone that yes, this book is as vital and as good as everyone says it is.
- I learned a lot from this book: even if you're read a lot of history and antiracist literature, there's still more to excavate, and Smith brings it all up.
- Smith's inclusion of his personal experiences while visiting the sites in this book keep it from becoming a dry historical text. It does exactly what the sites are trying to do: bring the past into the present because it has never left us, as much as many of us try to pretend it has.
- I learned a lot from this book: even if you're read a lot of history and antiracist literature, there's still more to excavate, and Smith brings it all up.
- Smith's inclusion of his personal experiences while visiting the sites in this book keep it from becoming a dry historical text. It does exactly what the sites are trying to do: bring the past into the present because it has never left us, as much as many of us try to pretend it has.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Police brutality, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Murder, Colonisation, War, and Injury/Injury detail