"In a deeply researched and transporting exploration of the legacy of slavery and its imprint on centuries of American history", our core book, "How the Word Is Passed" "illustrates how some of our country’s most essential stories are hidden in plain view - ... in places we might drive by on our way to work, holidays such as Juneteenth, or entire neighborhoods — like downtown Manhattan—on which the brutal history of the trade in enslaved men, women and children has been deeply imprinted". We will follow our author, Clint Smith, a poet with a PhD from Harvard, through his lyrical accounts of his visits to Monticello, Whitney Plantation, Angola Prison, Blandford Cemetery, Gorée Island (Senegal) and more. Clint Smith is a fellow New Orleanian; his descriptions of the city of my childhood echo deeply in my memory.
Additionally, we will review the history of Reconstruction, the Jim Crow Era, the rise of White Supremacy, new ways to "Pass the Word", and Reparations.
