How the Word Is Passed
A Reckoning with the History of Slavery Across America
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How the Word Is Passed
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Narrated by:
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Clint Smith
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Written by:
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Clint Smith
About this listen
This compelling #1 New York Times bestseller examines the legacy of slavery in America—and how both history and memory continue to shape our everyday lives.
Beginning in his hometown of New Orleans, Clint Smith leads the listener on an unforgettable tour of monuments and landmarks—those that are honest about the past and those that are not—that offer an intergenerational story of how slavery has been central in shaping our nation's collective history, and ourselves.
It is the story of the Monticello Plantation in Virginia, the estate where Thomas Jefferson wrote letters espousing the urgent need for liberty while enslaving more than four hundred people. It is the story of the Whitney Plantation, one of the only former plantations devoted to preserving the experience of the enslaved people whose lives and work sustained it. It is the story of Angola, a former plantation-turned-maximum-security prison in Louisiana that is filled with Black men who work across the 18,000-acre land for virtually no pay. And it is the story of Blandford Cemetery, the final resting place of tens of thousands of Confederate soldiers.
A deeply researched and transporting exploration of the legacy of slavery and its imprint on centuries of American history, How the Word Is Passed illustrates how some of our country's most essential stories are hidden in plain view—whether in places we might drive by on our way to work, holidays such as Juneteenth, or entire neighborhoods like downtown Manhattan, where the brutal history of the trade in enslaved men, women, and children has been deeply imprinted.
Informed by scholarship and brought to life by the story of people living today, Smith's debut work of nonfiction is a landmark of reflection and insight that offers a new understanding of the hopeful role that memory and history can play in making sense of our country and how it has come to be.
Instant #1 New York Times Bestseller
Winner of the National Book Critics Circle Award for Nonfiction
Winner of the Stowe Prize
Winner of 2022 Hillman Prize for Book Journalism
PEN America 2022 John Kenneth Galbraith Award for Nonfiction Finalist
A New York Times 10 Best Books of 2021
A Time 10 Best Nonfiction Books of 2021
Named a Best Book of 2021 by The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Boston Globe, The Economist, Smithsonian, Esquire, Entropy, The Christian Science Monitor, WBEZ's Nerdette Podcast, TeenVogue, GoodReads, SheReads, BookPage, Publishers Weekly, Kirkus, Fathom Magazine, the New York Public Library, and the Chicago Public Library
One of GQ’s 50 Best Books of Literary Journalism of the 21st Century
Longlisted for the National Book Award Los Angeles Times, Best Nonfiction Gift
One of President Obama's Favorite Books of 2021
©2021 Clint Smith (P)2021 Little, Brown & CompanyWhat the critics say
"Raises questions that we must all address, without recourse to wishful thinking or the collective ignorance and willful denial that fuels white supremacy.” —Martha Anne Toll, The Washington Post
"The detail and depth of the storytelling is vivid and visceral, making history present and real. Equally commendable is the care and compassion shown to those Smith interviews — whether tour guides or fellow visitors in these many spaces. Due to his care as an interviewer, the responses Smith elicits are resonant and powerful. . . . Smith deftly connects the past, hiding in plain sight, with today's lingering effects.”—Hope Wabuke, NPR
"What [Smith] does, quite successfully, is show that we whitewash our history at our own risk. That history is literally still here, taking up acres of space, memorializing the past, and teaching us how we got to be where we are, and the way we are. Bury it now and it will only come calling later." —USA Today
What listeners say about How the Word Is Passed
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- James Wassenas
- 2024-10-02
Brilliant balanced history
I started this a bit cynically but it’s an amazing, well balanced history of US. The author does a great job narrating. I found it very engaging and enlightening … not necessarily in a good way. Lots of stuff many folks would rather remain buried. I would add this to my top ten or even top five history ‘must reads’ which to me include: Ordinary Men; Gulag; 1491 and Breathing Life into the Stone Fort Treaty.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- gene
- 2021-10-13
Exceptional!
Clint Smith has done an excellent job of describing the horrors and ongoing legacy of slavery. we see the results all around us on a daily basis. As a 62 year old white Canadian male I am haunted by the similarities to our own inability to deal with our history of Residential schools. Great listen.
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2 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Jackie
- 2021-06-14
precise, rousing, and masterful
clear prose with a poetic edge. such attention to historical accuracy. all told from an evocative and moving emotional perspective. even as a canadian this was an exceedingly good read. learned so much, of which i should have know and which we should ALL know. would recommend this to ANYONE, ANYWHERE. 100/10!!! thank you so much for this, dr. smith.
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- Randi
- 2023-04-25
Black History Canon
Given its accolades, I’m likely just reiterating many sentiments. I was thrilled to learn that Mr Smith had been a high school teacher and that had, in part, instructed his book. I too was an English teacher with a love of history, and kept thinking of ways I could have incorporated his text into my lessons.
Smith tackles a still difficult and ugly subject matter with beautiful prose, and just the right amount of acrimony, complete fairness and deep research. Through extensive use of primary sources, he makes the logical connections that leave no other inference. I like that he acknowledges, either refuting or reinforcing, ALL beliefs and points of view he encountered throughout his research.
As full disclosure on identity, I’m a white, female, Jewish Canadian with a fair amount of historical knowledge (especially of North America). What was completely new for me, or far more in-depth than my prior knowledge was …
Seneca Village in NYC!! I was blown away and unfortunately part of the group that assumed NY was for the most part sympathetic to the cause of equal rights.
Also surprising was Lincoln’s complex relationship with race. I had no idea that it came down to a political move in the end.
This was clearly a labour of love and we are only better for listening to it. Thank you for your incredible research and very engaging book!
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- Debbie Miller
- 2021-06-13
A must read
Dr.Clint Smith, congratulations on an excellent book. You made the reader feel like they were right there with you. This book was an emotional roller coaster. It left me in awe of the resilience of my people. It taught me a lot about why Black people have so mis mistrust and how they have and continue to contribute to this country.
I encourage all to read but caution you that the emotions you will feel will be intense.
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- B bo B
- 2022-03-18
This Should Be Required Reading/Listening
As heartbreaking and difficult as it is thorough and necessary, this book moved me at my core. Thank you to Clint Smith for an exceptional piece of writing, one that I'm sure had to involved a lot of emotional labour. Now I want to read it so I can absorb it even more.
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- Sarah smart
- 2023-02-26
Lovely book
I really enjoyed this book. It has the reader delve into American history, and invites the reader to grapple with all that entails. It gives a very broad overview of the collective history of slavery by going to very specific memories and places. Can’t recommend enough.
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- Mikayla Ozorio
- 2024-03-16
Loved this book
Masterfully written and narrated. This book is very informative but also captivating. There were times I was almost in tears. It is narrated by the author who did an exceptional job.
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