Podcasts about slavery across america

I've recorded hundreds of conversations with incredible people working on the front lines of the future. People who've asked the most important question: what can I do? Who found their answer and followed it. But for today's conversation, we're going back to the front lines of the past because the past can tell us a whole hell of a lot about today and how tomorrow might go.But only if we tell the full story of how we got here, about who got us here, about how my great-great-grandparents got here. And how my grandma got here fleeing the Nazis, and how millions of Africans were forcibly brought here, over 35,000 trips across the middle passage over almost 300 years. The full story of the choices we made then, which was not so long ago, and continue to make now about wars and heritage and bondage and family and land and more.And how, if we can break from the stories we've been told and continue to tell ourselves to choose history over nostalgia, to choose facts over memory and infinite disinformation on demand, we can make different choices. My guest today is Clint Smith. Clint is the number one New York Times bestselling author of How the Word Is Passed: A Reckoning With the History of Slavery Across America, he's the winner of the National Book Critic Circle Award for nonfiction, the Hillman Prize for book journalism, the Stowe Prize, the Dayton Literary Peace Prize, and was selected by the New York Times as one of the 10 best books of 2021.And now in 2025, the Young Reader's Edition has just come out and it is wonderful. Clint is also the author two books of poetry, the New York Times bestselling collection Above Ground, as well as Counting Dissent. Both poetry collections were winners of the Literary Award for Best Poetry Book from the Black Caucus of the American Library Association, and both were finalists for NAACP Image Awards.Clint is a staff writer at The Atlantic and he has received fellowships for the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, New America, the Emerson Collective, the Art for Justice Fund, Cave Canum, and the National Science Foundation. His essays, poems, and scholarly writing have been published in The New Yorker, New York Times Magazine, the New Republic, Poetry Magazine, the Paris Review, the Harvard Educational Review, and elsewhere. Clint is a former National Poetry Slam Champion, and the recipient of the Jerome Jay Shestack Prize from the American Poetry Review.-----------Have feedback or questions? Tweet us, or send a message to questions@importantnotimportant.comNew here? Get started with our fan favorite episodes at podcast.importantnotimportant.com.Take Action at www.whatcanido.earth-----------INI Book Club:How The Word Is Passed by Clint SmithHow The Word Is Passed Young Readers Edition by Clint Smith, Adapted by Sonja Cherry-PaulFind all of our guest recommendations at the INI Book Club:

How do we narrate history, both the troubling past and what we chose to remember? Clint Smith sets out to wrestle with this question and its relationship to enslavement in his first nonfiction book, How the Word is Passed: A Reckoning with the History of Slavery Across America (Little, Brown and Company, 2021). From Monticello plantation to Angola Prison to Galveston Island, Smith guides the reader on a journey as he visits domestic and abroad landmarks. In his exploration, he includes the reactions of the people he meets, like tourists, local public historians, and teachers, illuminating how these sites and all of us participate in remembering enslavement in contemporary America. N'Kosi Oates is a Ph.D. candidate in Africana Studies at Brown University. Find him on Twitter at NKosiOates. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network

How do we narrate history, both the troubling past and what we chose to remember? Clint Smith sets out to wrestle with this question and its relationship to enslavement in his first nonfiction book, How the Word is Passed: A Reckoning with the History of Slavery Across America (Little, Brown and Company, 2021). From Monticello plantation to Angola Prison to Galveston Island, Smith guides the reader on a journey as he visits domestic and abroad landmarks. In his exploration, he includes the reactions of the people he meets, like tourists, local public historians, and teachers, illuminating how these sites and all of us participate in remembering enslavement in contemporary America. N'Kosi Oates is a Ph.D. candidate in Africana Studies at Brown University. Find him on Twitter at NKosiOates. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/history

How do we narrate history, both the troubling past and what we chose to remember? Clint Smith sets out to wrestle with this question and its relationship to enslavement in his first nonfiction book, How the Word is Passed: A Reckoning with the History of Slavery Across America (Little, Brown and Company, 2021). From Monticello plantation to Angola Prison to Galveston Island, Smith guides the reader on a journey as he visits domestic and abroad landmarks. In his exploration, he includes the reactions of the people he meets, like tourists, local public historians, and teachers, illuminating how these sites and all of us participate in remembering enslavement in contemporary America. N'Kosi Oates is a Ph.D. candidate in Africana Studies at Brown University. Find him on Twitter at NKosiOates. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/political-science

How do we narrate history, both the troubling past and what we chose to remember? Clint Smith sets out to wrestle with this question and its relationship to enslavement in his first nonfiction book, How the Word is Passed: A Reckoning with the History of Slavery Across America (Little, Brown and Company, 2021). From Monticello plantation to Angola Prison to Galveston Island, Smith guides the reader on a journey as he visits domestic and abroad landmarks. In his exploration, he includes the reactions of the people he meets, like tourists, local public historians, and teachers, illuminating how these sites and all of us participate in remembering enslavement in contemporary America. N'Kosi Oates is a Ph.D. candidate in Africana Studies at Brown University. Find him on Twitter at NKosiOates. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/american-studies

How do we narrate history, both the troubling past and what we chose to remember? Clint Smith sets out to wrestle with this question and its relationship to enslavement in his first nonfiction book, How the Word is Passed: A Reckoning with the History of Slavery Across America (Little, Brown and Company, 2021). From Monticello plantation to Angola Prison to Galveston Island, Smith guides the reader on a journey as he visits domestic and abroad landmarks. In his exploration, he includes the reactions of the people he meets, like tourists, local public historians, and teachers, illuminating how these sites and all of us participate in remembering enslavement in contemporary America. N'Kosi Oates is a Ph.D. candidate in Africana Studies at Brown University. Find him on Twitter at NKosiOates. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/journalism

How do we narrate history, both the troubling past and what we chose to remember? Clint Smith sets out to wrestle with this question and its relationship to enslavement in his first nonfiction book, How the Word is Passed: A Reckoning with the History of Slavery Across America (Little, Brown and Company, 2021). From Monticello plantation to Angola Prison to Galveston Island, Smith guides the reader on a journey as he visits domestic and abroad landmarks. In his exploration, he includes the reactions of the people he meets, like tourists, local public historians, and teachers, illuminating how these sites and all of us participate in remembering enslavement in contemporary America. N'Kosi Oates is a Ph.D. candidate in Africana Studies at Brown University. Find him on Twitter at NKosiOates. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/american-south

Juneteenth Special: Historian Clint Smith on Reckoning with the History of Slavery Across America; Rhiannon Giddens on Pulitzer-Winning Opera “Omar” About Enslaved Muslim Scholar Omar ibn Said; “Another Wasted Life”: Rhiannon Giddens on How Death of Kalief Browder Inspired New Song

In an executive order titled “Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History,” President Trump targeted the Smithsonian, demanding that “improper ideology” be removed from exhibits. Under the order,  exhibits that “divide” Americans will be defunded, including  portrayals of race and its history at the National Museum of  African American History and Culture. We talk to Clint Smith, Atlantic staff writer and author of “How the Word is Passed: A Reckoning with the History of Slavery Across America,” about the battle over how American history is told. Guests: Clint Smith, poet; author; staff writer, The Atlantic. His books are "Above Ground" and "How the Word is Passed." Key Jo Lee, chief of curatorial affairs and public program, Museum of the African Diaspora Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Our website - www.perksofbeingabooklover.com. Instagram - @perksofbeingabookloverpod Facebook - Perks of Being a Book Lover. To send us a message go to our website and click the Contact button. You can find Sharon Short at her website, www.sharonshort.com and on Instagram at @sharongshortauthor. This week we have a Remix episode and catch up with Sharon Short, who we initially interviewed about her historical mystery novels which she wrote under the pen name Jess Montgomery. She has a new stand alone mystery suspense out titled Trouble Island that was inspired by a very interesting family story. You will first hear our most recent chat with her just a few weeks ago and then we will replay our original conversation with her back in the Spring of 2022 talking about her Kinship series. Just a note that next week we will have another REMIX episode, this time with award winning mystery writer Tracy Clark whose most recent in the Detective Harriet Foster series came out Dec 3 titled Echo. The Washington Post has just named it one of their top mysteries of 2024. Books Mentioned In this Episode: 1- Trouble Island by Jess Montgomery 2- The Widows by Jess Montgomery (Kinship series) 3- The Echoes by Jess Montgomery (Kinship series) 4- Shit Cassandra Saw by Gwen Kirby 5- Deer Season by Erin Flanagan 6- How the Word is Passed: A Reckoning with the History of Slavery Across America by Clint Smith

Our website - www.perksofbeingabooklover.com. Instagram - @perksofbeingabookloverpod Facebook - Perks of Being a Book Lover. To send us a message go to our website and click the Contact button. You can find Sharon Short at her website, www.sharonshort.com and on Instagram at @sharongshortauthor. This week we have a Remix episode and catch up with Sharon Short, who we initially interviewed about her historical mystery novels which she wrote under the pen name Jess Montgomery. She has a new stand alone mystery suspense out titled Trouble Island that was inspired by a very interesting family story. You will first hear our most recent chat with her just a few weeks ago and then we will replay our original conversation with her back in the Spring of 2022 talking about her Kinship series. Just a note that next week we will have another REMIX episode, this time with award winning mystery writer Tracy Clark whose most recent in the Detective Harriet Foster series came out Dec 3 titled Echo. The Washington Post has just named it one of their top mysteries of 2024. Books Mentioned In this Episode: 1- Trouble Island by Jess Montgomery 2- The Widows by Jess Montgomery (Kinship series) 3- The Echoes by Jess Montgomery (Kinship series) 4- Shit Cassandra Saw by Gwen Kirby 5- Deer Season by Erin Flanagan 6- How the Word is Passed: A Reckoning with the History of Slavery Across America by Clint Smith

Father-daughter duo Mike Bontrager and Stephanie Almanza join Phil and Grace to share their approach to building both for-profit and nonprofit ventures in their local community that are rooted in trust, partnership, and shared goals. Mike offers insight into how he found success in the financial industry by putting trust ahead of profit and how that principle has informed his philanthropic and entrepreneurial ventures in his hometown of Kennett Square, Pennsylvania. The two also discuss how they chose to invest locally and the way they work in partnership with other community nonprofits, city government, and their neighbors to help build a thriving community. Additional Resources Square Roots Collective Voices Underground Project Praxis Labs The War Before the War: Fugitive Slaves and the Struggle for America's Soul From the Revolution to the Civil War by Andrew Delbanco The Color of Law: A Forgotten History of How Our Government Segregated America by Richard Rothstein How the Word is Passed: A Reckoning with the History of Slavery Across America by Clint Smith

In this episode, host Claire Bown talks with Linda Norris, a Senior Specialist in Methodology and Practice at the International Coalition of Sites of Conscience. Linda is known for her work in museum capacity-building, leading training and workshops for major museums and historic sites like the Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation and the War Childhood Museum.Listen in to uncover practical frameworks (such as the 4 Truths and the Arc of Dialogue) for facilitating productive dialogues and handling conflicts effectively. Linda discusses essential skills for leading conversations that foster understanding and address contentious issues. Linkshttps://www.sitesofconscience.org/Library of videos on our YouTube Channel https://www.youtube.com/user/SitesofConscience/videos but particularly the short intro to the Arc of Dialogue https://youtu.be/IhiPUh_l49k?si=nUCgXR8u3RPtoZPhArticle: Life-long Anti-Oppression for Museum Professionals by Braden Paynter and Linda Norris; https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/10598650.2022.2140555Book recommendation: Clint Smith - How the Word Is Passed: A Reckoning with the History of Slavery Across America

On this episode, Mawuli Grant Agbefe and I discuss his love for fascinating non-fiction, including one of my absolute favorite books ever that he recommended to me in January! We also discuss our shared love of being readers in Chicago, based on the gorgeous places to read and the incredible resource the Chicago Public Library is.    Books mentioned in this episode:    What Betsy's reading:  The Nix by Nathan Hill  The Extinction of Irena Rey by Jennifer Croft Sociopath: A Memoir by Patric Gagne    Books Highlighted by Mawuli:  The Official Preppy Handbook by Jonathan Roberts, Carol McD. Wallace, Mason Wiley, and Lisa Birnbach The Deficit Myth: Modern Monetary Theory and the Birth of the People's Economy by Stephanie Kelton  Grace Will Lead Us Home: The Charleston Church Tragedy and the Hard, Inspiring Journey to Forgiveness by Jennifer Berry Hawes  Mean Girl Feminism: How White Feminists Gaslight, Gatekeep, and Girlboss by Kim Hong Nguyen  Ordinary Notes by Christina Sharpe Your Face Belongs to Us: A Secretive Startup's Quest to End Privacy as we Know it by Kashmir Hill How the Word is Passed: A Reckoning with the History of Slavery Across America by Clint Smith  Bullshit Jobs: A Theory by David Graeber    Other Books Mentioned in the Episode: All books available on my Bookshop.org episode page.   How the Other Half Banks: Exclusion, Exploitation and the Threat to Democracy by Mehrsa Baradaran  Take Ivy by Shosuke Ishizu and Toshiyuki Kurosu His Name is George Floyd by Toluse Olorunippa and Robert Samuels  Columbine by Dave Cullen  The Only Plane in the Sky: An Oral History of 9/11 by Garrett M. Graff

On May 7th, JOURNEY THROUGH HISTORY introduces best-selling author, poet and teacher, Clint Smith, who brings his Harvard sociology training on his visits (with recorder) to Civil War and Reconstruction Era Monuments from New Orleans to New York and Virginia to Texas in his book How the word is passed: a reckoning with the history of slavery across America DB103908. As noted on Blinkist.com: “ Through immersive visits to historical sites, Smith examines how slavery is remembered and how it continues to shape the country today.” The Journey through History Zoom meeting link follows. Be aware that all Accessible World Zoom meetings are set to automatically record and the Zoom Client on both your computer and your smart device presents a message announcing the recording when you first enter a meeting using these clients. You must tab or swipe to the Got it or OK button and execute it to acknowledge your awareness of the recording or you will be unable to unmute your device and speak in the meeting: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/177809772?pwd=dSt5ZjBzK3hYL3doRE5NVy96M3JVUT09 Please join us on Tuesday, May 7, 2024 at 8:00 PM Eastern to discuss the following: HOW THE WORD PASSED: A RECKONING WITH THE HISTORY OF SLAVERY ACROSS AMERICA. DB103908

What does it do to you when someone you love is ripped from the family, charged with a crime, wrongfully incarcerated, and – after nearly 25 years, continues to serve a life sentence without the possibility of parole in the infamous Angola prison – a national disgrace – despite evidence of his innocence, and still protesting his innocence? Deborah G. Plant, author of the book OF GREED AND GLORY: IN PURSUIT OF FREEDOM FOR ALL is my guest today. Informed by her own personal experience . . . armed with her skills as a scholar, author, and literary critic with a masters and doctorate in English . . . YES, this story could happen to anyone, and has too often happened to too many African-American Everymans and Everywomans Deborah Plant takes moments that can bring you to your knees and gives us a book to bring us to our senses; to a knowledge of what is being done to thousands of people in our name as American citizens. We close this episode with a profile of Angola Prison, the infamous Louisiana State Penitentiary located on the site of 8,000-acre Angola Plantation—so named for the homeland of people enslaved there. Clint Smith travelled to the prison to research his #1 New York Times bestseller, "HOW THE WORD IS PASSED: A Reckoning with the History of Slavery Across America." He spoke about Angola during his visit to the show in 2021.

Cauline Yates was at a family reunion the first time she heard she was a descendant of Thomas Jefferson. She later helped develop the Memorial to Enslaved Laborers at the University of Virginia. And: Clint Smith is the author of the award-winning book, How the Word is Passed: A Reckoning with the History of Slavery Across America. He traveled to 9 historic sites to understand how slavery is remembered and taught. Later in the Show: Gayle Jessup White was on a tour at Monticello when she raised her hand and told the guide she was related to Sally Hemings. She says that moment changed her life forever. Her memoir, Reclamation: Sally Hemings, Thomas Jefferson and a Descendant's Search for Her Family's Lasting Legacy, chronicles uncovering her family's roots at Thomas Jefferson's home. Plus: Descendants recently gained structural parity at James Madison's plantation home, Montpelier. When this interview was originally recorded, James French represented the descendant community on Montpelier's board.

In today's interview, I speak with Katie Gee Salisbury, a writer and photographer whose work has appeared in the New York Times, Vanity Fair, The Believer, and the Asian American Writers' Workshop. She also writes the newsletter Half-Caste Woman. She has spoken about her work at the Museum of Chinese in America, Barnard College, New York University, and gave a TED Talk entitled “As American as Chop Suey.” She joins me today to talk about her first book, Not Your China Doll: The Wild and Shimmering Life of Anna May Wong. Listen to hear how Anna May Wong reinvented herself and took control of her career when Hollywood wouldn't cast her in leading roles and how she changed her approach to portraying Asian characters after visiting China. Books mentioned in this episode include:Ghosts Of Gold Mountain: The Epic Story of the Chinese Who Built the Transcontinental Railroad by Gordon H. ChangRiver of Shadows: Eadweard Muybridge and the Technological Wild West by Rebecca SolnitSwanson on Swanson by Gloria SwansonAnna May Wong: From Laundryman's Daughter to Hollywood Legend by Russell Gao HodgesAnna May Wong: Performing the Modern by Shirley J. LimLulu in Hollywood by Louise BrooksHow the Word Is Passed: A Reckoning with the History of Slavery Across America by Clint SmithSame Bed Different Dreams by Ed ParkFilms mentioned in this episode include:The Good Earth directed by Sidney FranklinKing of Chinatown directed by Nick GrindeCrazy Rich Asians directed by Jon M. ChuThe Empire Strikes Back directed by Irvin KershnerSwingers directed by Doug LimanVertigo directed by Alfred HitchcockRaiders of the Lost Ark directed by Steven SpielbergThe Little Mermaid directed by John Musker and Ron Clements

The New York Times best selling author Clint Smith joins Tim to discuss race and its history in the United States, including the false narratives many Americans have about it. They also discuss his book, "How the Word Is Passed: A Reckoning with the History of Slavery Across America," and what he hopes its readers take from it.

Friends, Pádraig here — we are awakening your Poetry Unbound feed to share this brilliant episode from the newest season of On Being, which is well underway. Conversations on love and loss, comedy and ecology, social creativity, poetry, and more all await you in the On Being feed — subscribe now and don't miss out.And — Poetry Unbound Season 8 is in production and will be arriving this winter.  And now...This phrase recurs throughout Clint Smith's writing: "in the marrow of our bones." It is an example of how words can hold encrypted wisdom — in this case, the reality that memory and emotion lodge in us physically. Words and phrases have carried this truth forward in time long before we had the science to understand it.Clint Smith is best known for his 2021 book, How the Word Is Passed, but he is first and foremost a poet. He and Krista discuss how his various life chapters have been real-world laboratories for him to investigate the entanglement between language and the intelligence of the body — and the related entanglement between history and place. His poetic sensibility has singularly opened readers to approach a generative reckoning with American history — on whatever side of that history our ancestors stood. Clint Smith has a way of making reckoning possible at a humanizing, softening, bodily level — in the marrow, you might say, of our bones. Clint Smith is a staff writer at The Atlantic. His narrative nonfiction book, How the Word Is Passed: A Reckoning With the History of Slavery Across America, won the National Book Critics Circle Award for Nonfiction and many other honors. His poetry collections are Counting Descent and Above Ground.Find the transcript for this show at onbeing.org.

Clint Smith reads his poem, “Dance Party.” This poem is featured in Clint's On Being conversation with Krista, “What We Know in the ‘Marrow of Our Bones.'” Find more of his poems, along with our full collection of poetry films and readings from two decades of the show, at Experience Poetry.Clint Smith is a staff writer at The Atlantic. His narrative nonfiction book, How the Word Is Passed: A Reckoning With the History of Slavery Across America, won the National Book Critics Circle Award for Nonfiction and many other honors. His poetry collections are Counting Descent and Above Ground.

This phrase recurs throughout Clint Smith's writing: "in the marrow of our bones." It is an example of how words can hold encrypted wisdom — in this case, the reality that memory and emotion lodge in us physically. Words and phrases have carried this truth forward in time long before we had the science to understand it.Clint Smith is best known for his 2021 book, How the Word Is Passed, but he is first and foremost a poet. He and Krista discuss how his various life chapters have been real-world laboratories for him to investigate the entanglement between language and the intelligence of the body — and the related entanglement between history and place. His poetic sensibility has singularly opened readers to approach a generative reckoning with American history — on whatever side of that history our ancestors stood. Clint Smith has a way of making reckoning possible at a humanizing, softening, bodily level — in the marrow, you might say, of our bones.Clint Smith is a staff writer at The Atlantic. His narrative nonfiction book, How the Word Is Passed: A Reckoning With the History of Slavery Across America, won the National Book Critics Circle Award for Nonfiction and many other honors. His poetry collections are Counting Descent and Above Ground.This interview is edited and produced with music and other features in the On Being episode "Clint Smith — What We Know in the ‘Marrow of Our Bones.'" Find the transcript for that show at onbeing.org.______Sign up for The Pause — a Saturday morning companion to the podcast season.

Clint Smith reads his poem, “Ode to Those First Fifteen Minutes After the Kids Are Finally Asleep.” This poem is featured in Clint's On Being conversation with Krista, “What We Know in the ‘Marrow of Our Bones.'” Find more of his poems, along with our full collection of poetry films and readings from two decades of the show, at Experience Poetry.Clint Smith is a staff writer at The Atlantic. His narrative nonfiction book, How the Word Is Passed: A Reckoning With the History of Slavery Across America, won the National Book Critics Circle Award for Nonfiction and many other honors. His poetry collections are Counting Descent and Above Ground.

This phrase recurs throughout Clint Smith's writing: "in the marrow of our bones." It is an example of how words can hold encrypted wisdom — in this case, the reality that memory and emotion lodge in us physically. Words and phrases have carried this truth forward in time long before we had the science to understand it.Clint Smith is best known for his 2021 book, How the Word Is Passed, but he is first and foremost a poet. He and Krista discuss how his various life chapters have been real-world laboratories for him to investigate the entanglement between language and the intelligence of the body — and the related entanglement between history and place. His poetic sensibility has singularly opened readers to approach a generative reckoning with American history — on whatever side of that history our ancestors stood. Clint Smith has a way of making reckoning possible at a humanizing, softening, bodily level — in the marrow, you might say, of our bones.Clint Smith is a staff writer at The Atlantic. His narrative nonfiction book, How the Word Is Passed: A Reckoning With the History of Slavery Across America, won the National Book Critics Circle Award for Nonfiction and many other honors. His poetry collections are Counting Descent and Above Ground.Find the transcript for this show at onbeing.org.______Sign up for The Pause — a Saturday morning companion to the podcast season. 

Clint Smith is a staff writer at The Atlantic. His book won the National Book Critics Circle Award for Nonfiction and was named one of the New York Times10 Best Books of 202. How the Word is Passed: is the story of the Monticello Plantation in Virginia. 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

Juneteenth Special: Historian Clint Smith on Reckoning with the History of Slavery Across America; “Sing Your Song”: Remembering Harry Belafonte, Who Used His Stardom to Help MLK & Civil Rights Movement; “Get Down to Business”: Harry Belafonte in 2016 on Trump, Socialism & Fighting for Justice

Juneteenth Special: Historian Clint Smith on Reckoning with the History of Slavery Across America; “Sing Your Song”: Remembering Harry Belafonte, Who Used His Stardom to Help MLK & Civil Rights Movement; “Get Down to Business”: Harry Belafonte in 2016 on Trump, Socialism & Fighting for Justice

Did you read the title of this episode? It's a doozy! As convoluted as “The Untold Story of the Story That I Told” is, I couldn't resist calling this newest episode that because of the WILD ride I went on making it. Years ago I made an eBook called “Rise and Resist” where I highlighted five different Black people who were alive around the time of Juneteenth. I told their stories and really wanted people to use this eBook to be able to share stories of Black resistance with children and students. I was planning on using one of those stories in today's episode as a way to illustrate how talking to kids about slavery can be complicated, but when I opened the book, I was astounded. I could not believe some of the stuff I wrote! There were things in there that I would never say today — things I would cringe about if someone else said them, but I double cringed knowing that I wrote them! So this episode is a little bit of what I had planned, but also a little bit of me correcting what I got totally wrong. I hope this episode reminds you how anti-racism is a journey. It's about growth. And the best thing we can do is keep moving forward and keep trying to grow. Sometimes we'll be in a position where our growth is evident, even if it's a little embarrassing, but it's worth it. If we're not trying to make change, speaking up and telling stories, then we might miss the opportunity to try to make things right — which is something I'm trying to do today!   Invite Jasmine to work with your school! Are you a parent or teacher who wants to help your school turn good intentions into positive action by making anti-racist education a priority? First Name Basis is here to help! Jasmine Bradshaw, the host and founder of the First Name Basis Podcast, is an anti-racist educator and former second-grade teacher who has a passion for helping schools make real change. Whether you're looking for a keynote speaker at your next PTA event, want to implement our Ally Elementary curriculum at your school, or need someone to consult with your school and provide teacher trainings, Jasmine is your go-to resource. Email hello@firstnamebasis.org for more information!   Check out our Summer Sale! We have a surprise for you — Ally Elementary Jr., Ally Elementary and Juneteenth Jubilee are all available RIGHT NOW! And to make that news even better, we're running a HUGE sale now through June 23! With Juneteenth right around the corner, you can get $25 off Juneteenth Jubilee to help you plan the perfect Juneteenth Dinner.  Or you can get $75 off Ally Elementary Jr. or Ally Elementary, and when you purchase either of those programs, you'll get Juneteenth Jubilee FOR FREE! No coupon code needed — the deal will automatically load itself into your cart. If you're interested in bringing anti-racist education into your home or classroom, now is the time to get them! Summer is a great time to start using these programs in your home or to prepare to use them in your classroom.  Head over to firstnamebasis.org/allyelementary to learn more or to get the programs!  Articles, Studies, & Podcasts Referenced in the Episode First Name Basis Bookshop First Name Basis Podcast, Season 1, Episode 3: “Talking to Your Children About Slavery” First Name Basis Podcast, Season 3, Episode 26: “What is Juneteenth and How Can I Celebrate?” First Name Basis Podcast, Season 3, Episode 7: “Service, Not Saviorism” First Name Basis Podcast, Season 5, Episode 7: “The Untold Story of Rosa Parks” “How the Word Is Passed: A Reckoning with the History of Slavery Across America,” by Clint Smith “They Were Her Property: White Women as Slave Owners in the American South,” by Stephanie E. Jones-Rogers “The 1619 Project: A New Origin Story,” by Nicole Hannah-Jones  “Stamped from the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America,” by Ibram X. Kendi Juneteenth Strawberry Lemonade Cards by First Name Basis Richmond was the second largest city in the South when Virginia seceded Virginia was the largest Confederate state NAACP Culpeper Branch style guide for writing and teaching about slavery “Against Wind and Tide: The African American Struggle against the Colonization Movement,” by  Ousmane Power-Greene “How a Movement to Send Formerly Enslaved People to Africa Created Liberia,” by Becky Little, History.com Elizabeth Van Lew, American Battlefield Trust Elizabeth L. Van Lew, Library of Virginia “American Police,” Throughline Podcast, NPR Article about Mary Jane Richards dated Oct. 7, 1865 in The Anglo-African Info about the history of The Anglo-African   Song Credit: “Sleeper” by Steve Adams” and “Dive Down” by VYEN  

Poets Clint Smith and Terisa Siagatonu address issues like climate change, while also looking back at American history. Clint Smith is the author of the best-selling narrative nonfiction book, How the Word Is Passed: A Reckoning With the History of Slavery Across America and the poetry collection Counting Descent. His latest, Above Ground, traverses the vast emotional terrain of fatherhood, particularly Black fatherhood. Terisa Siagatonu is an award-winning poet, teaching artist, mental health educator, and community leader born and rooted in the San Francisco Bay Area. Her writing blends the personal, cultural, and political in a way that calls for healing, courage, justice, and truth. On April 12, 2023, Clint Smith and Terisa Siagatonu came to the Sydney Goldstein Theater in San Francisco.  

Clint Smith is a staff writer at The Atlantic. He is the author of the narrative nonfiction book, How the Word Is Passed: A Reckoning With the History of Slavery Across America, which was a #1 New York Times bestseller, winner of the National Book Critics Circle Award for Nonfiction, the Hillman Prize for Book Journalism, the Stowe Prize, the Dayton Literary Peace Prize, and selected by the New York Times as one of the 10 Best Books of 2021. He is also the author of the poetry collection Counting Descent, which won the 2017 Literary Award for Best Poetry Book from the Black Caucus of the American Library Association and was a finalist for an NAACP Image Award. His new poetry collection is called Above Ground. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Slavery has been called America's original sin, yet its depiction in American history and schools remains surprisingly controversial.  Clint Smith has travelled the country to document the ways in which that story is told, shining a light not just on who we were, but who we are. Clint Smith is a staff writer at The Atlantic.  He is the author of the narrative nonfiction book, “How the Word Is Passed: A Reckoning With the History of Slavery Across America,” which was a #1 New York Times bestseller, winner of the National Book Critics Circle Award for Nonfiction, the Hillman Prize for Book Journalism, the Stowe Prize, the Dayton Literary Peace Prize, and selected by the New York Times as one of the 10 Best Books of 2021. He is also the author of the poetry collection “Counting Descent,” which won the 2017 Literary Award for Best Poetry Book from the Black Caucus of the American Library Association and was a finalist for an NAACP Image Award. His forthcoming poetry collection, “Above Ground,” which will be published March 28, 2023.  Clint has received fellowships from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, New America, the Emerson Collective, the Art For Justice Fund, Cave Canem, and the National Science Foundation. His essays, poems, and scholarly writing have been appeared in The New Yorker, The New York Times Magazine, The New Republic, Poetry Magazine, The Paris Review, the Harvard Educational Review, and elsewhere.  Previously, Clint taught high school English in Prince George's County, Maryland where he was named the Christine D. Sarbanes Teacher of the Year by the Maryland Humanities Council. He is the host of the YouTube series Crash Course Black American History.  Clint received his bachelor's degree in English from Davidson College and his Ph.D. in Education from Harvard University.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In conversation with award-winning journalist and broadcaster Tracey Matisak ''A public intellectual with much to offer about teaching (and unlearning) history'' (The Washington Post), Clint Smith, in his bestselling book How the Word Is Passed, takes the reader on a tour of monuments and landmarks that tell an intergenerational story about the continuing legacy of slavery in the United States. A staff writer at The Atlantic, he is also the author of the poetry collection Counting Descent, which was a finalist for the NAACP Image Award. Smith has earned fellowships from a variety of institutions, including the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, the Art for Justice Fund, and the National Science Foundation, and his essays, poems, and scholarly work have been published in The Paris Review, The New Yorker, and The New Republic, among other publications. A former National Poetry Slam champion, his poetry collection, Above Ground, will be published in March 2023. (recorded 1/26/2023)

On Episode 174, we share LISTENER TOP 10s of 2022. Thanks to the 70+ listeners who contributed their top 10 lists. Out of 427 books, Emily shares not only what the combined top 10 titles are (actually, 11 titles because there was a tie) but also who the most frequently listed authors are. We also talk about our READING INTENTIONS & GOALS for 2023. Listeners shared their plans and intentions on a Goodreads thread (https://bit.ly/2023_Reading_Intentions_and_Goals). The discussion is ongoing and inspiring. Reminder: PARNASSUS ON WHEELS by Christopher Morley is our first quarter readalong. If you'd like to join our live Zoom conversation on February 26th at 7 PM (ET), send us an email (bookcougars at gmail dot com). Here's the Goodreads discussion link: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/22401319-parnassus-on-wheels-by-christopher-morley In our JUST READ segment, we talk about: ROUGH SLEEPERS: Dr. Jim O'Connell's Urgent Mission to Bring Healing to Homeless People by Tracy Kidder HOW THE WORD IS PASSED: A Reckoning with Slavery Across America by Clint Smith A HEART THAT WORKS by Rob Delaney THE WINTER OF OUR DISCONTENT by John Steinbeck And in BIBLOADVENTURES, we recap our day in Boston, where we visited three bookstores: Brattle Books, Beacon Hill Books & Cafe, and Commonwealth Books. We had a blast! Emily had a solo biblioadventure, also in Massachusetts, where she saw Tracy Kidder in conversation with Dr. O'Connell discussing his new book ROUGH SLEEPERS. Books that we have talked about on earlier episodes and are OUT NOW: Small World by Laura Zigman Decent People by De'shawn Charles Winslow Georgie, All Along: An Uplifting and Unforgettable Love Story by Kate Clayborn Exiles by Jane Harper Moonrise Over New Jessup by Jamila Minnicks AUTHOR SPOTLIGHT! We are so excited to introduce you to debut novelist JENNA MILLER! We talk with Jenna about her first novel, OUT OF CHARACTER, making friends online, her writing practice, and the growing controversy of butter boards. Happy Listening! Emily & Chris

What does it mean to stand on the soil where enslaved people lived, worked and died — and to see, surrounding it, monuments to the people who did the enslaving? That's the question at the heart of Clint Smith's book, “How the Word Is Passed.” After a statue of Confederate General Robert E. Lee came down in his hometown of New Orleans, Smith began a quest to understand America's historic and contemporary relationship to slavery. He did that by visiting sites like Monticello Plantation, where Thomas Jefferson wrote about freedom while enslaving hundreds, and Blandford Cemetery, where 30,000 Confederate soldiers are buried, and shared his powerful reflections in his book. “How the Word Is Passed” was a New York Times bestseller, the winner of the National Book Critics Circle Award of Nonfiction and one of the New York Times Best Books of 2021. Now out in paperback, “How the Word Is Passed,” invites us to be honest about America's history, and to reckon with how slavery's legacy still shapes us today. This is a can't miss Big Books and Bold conversation between Smith and MPR News host Kerri Miller Smith as they talk about his book, his reflections on America and how current events echo those of the past. Guest: Clint Smith is a staff writer at The Atlantic. He is the author of “How the Word Is Passed: A Reckoning With the History of Slavery Across America,” which just released in paperback. His latest book of poetry, “Above Ground,” comes out in March 2023. To listen to the full conversation you can use the audio player above.  Subscribe to the MPR News with Kerri Miller podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts or RSS. Subscribe to the Thread newsletter for the latest book and author news and must-read recommendations. 

When a racially segregated community is suddenly forced to integrate high schools, it inextricably intertwines families on opposite sides of the divide. How two of those families navigate the chaos — and its ripple effects for years to come — is at the heart of Naima Coster's novel, “What's Mine and Yours.” Coster joined MPR News host Kerri Miller for the season finale of the 2021 Talking Volumes series, Talking Race. We hope it will whet your appetite for Miller's conversation with Clint Smith this coming Friday, when they will talk about his book, “How the Word is Passed: A Reckoning with the History of Slavery Across America.” Guest: Naima Coster is the author of two novels. Her most recent is “What's Mine and Yours.” To listen to the full conversation you can use the audio player above.  Subscribe to the MPR News with Kerri Miller podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts or RSS. Subscribe to the Thread newsletter for the latest book and author news and must-read recommendations. 

After a statue of General Robert E. Lee came down in his hometown of New Orleans, Dr. Clint Smith began visiting sites like Monticello Plantation and Angola Prison to learn more about the ramifications of slavery in the United States today. It became the basis for his best-selling book, How the Word Is Passed: A Reckoning with the History of Slavery Across America. On this week's Disrupted, he joins us to talk about what he learned while researching the book. Smith is the recipient of the 2022 Stowe Prize and will be speaking at the Harriett Beecher Stowe Center on September 22, 2022. GUEST: Dr. Clint Smith: Staff writer for The Atlantic. Author of How the Word Is Passed: A Reckoning with the History of Slavery Across America and the poetry collection Counting Descent. This episode originally aired on September 21, 2022, and was produced by J. Carlisle Larsen, Kevin Chang Barnum and Catie Talarski. Disrupted is produced by Kevin Chang Barnum, Emily Charash and Catie Talarski. Disrupted is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Lisa discusses her favorite and least favorite books of 2022:  Her favorites: Frankenstein by Mary Shelley How the Word is Passed: A Reckoning with the History of Slavery Across America by Clint SmithI'm Glad My Mom Died by Jeanette McCurdyThe Swimmers by Julie OtsukaThe School for Good Mothers by Jessamine Chan  Her least favorite books she read in 2022: The Boy in the Striped Pajamas, a fictional Holocaust middle-grade book by John Boyne. Lisa had an episode about this book in 2022.  The Thursday Murder Club By Richard Osman  The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho. Lisa had an episode on this book.The Help by Kathryn Stockett The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson. Lisa discussed this book in this episode. For more information, find Lisa on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and her website. *The book titles mentioned include affiliate links. You can support the podcast by purchasing a book with the links because the podcast receives a small commission. 

Clint Smith is a poet and a staff writer for The Atlantic. His most recent book is How the Word Is Passed: A Reckoning with the History of Slavery Across America and his latest feature is “Monuments to the Unthinkable.” “I've been to a lot of places that carry a history of death and slaughter and murder. I've been on plantations. I've been in execution chambers. I've sat on electric chairs. I've been on death row. But I have never experienced anything like what I experienced walking through the gas chamber in Dachau. I mean, there's reading books about the Holocaust, and then there's that. And that is something that I hope to continue doing for the rest of my life: putting my body where these things happen. Because it completely transforms your understanding of what it was like.” Show notes: @ClintSmithIII clintsmithiii.com Smith on Longform Smith's Atlantic archive 00:00 How the Word Is Passed: A Reckoning with the History of Slavery Across America (Little Brown • 2021) 01:00 "Monuments to the Unthinkable" (Atlantic • Nov 2022) 17:00 Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City (Matthew Desmond • Crown • 2017) 33:00 The Hemingses of Monticello (Annette Gordon-Reed • W.W. Norton • 2009) 34:00 Counting Descent (Write Bloody Publishing • 2016) 57:00 The Diary of a Young Girl (Anne Frank • 1947) 57:00 Number the Stars (Lois Lowry • Houghton Mifflin • 1989) 1:07:00 "The Stories Tamir Rice Makes Us Remember" (New Yorker • Dec 2015) 1:08:00 Smith's New Yorker archive 1:08:00 "Freddy Adu and the Children of the Beautiful Game" (New Yorker • Mar 2017) 1:09:00 Above Ground (Little Brown • 2023) 1:09:00 Crash Course Black American History Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The World Cup has kicked off in Qatar and it wasn't without controversy! From uncomfortable press conferences to a cringy opening ceremony, we break it all down throughout the entire tournament! We're also joined by NYT Bestselling author Clint Smith to discuss why this World Cup is so problematic, and we discuss his book, “How The Word Is Passed: A Reckoning With The History of Slavery Across America.” Follow us everywhere @soccercooligans  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The World Cup has kicked off in Qatar and it wasn't without controversy! From uncomfortable press conferences to a cringy opening ceremony, we break it all down throughout the entire tournament! We're also joined by NYT Bestselling author Clint Smith to discuss why this World Cup is so problematic, and we discuss his book, “How The Word Is Passed: A Reckoning With The History of Slavery Across America.” Follow us everywhere @soccercooligans  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Cauline Yates was at a family reunion the first time she heard she was a descendant of Thomas Jefferson. In 2019, she was asked to help develop the Memorial to Enslaved Laborers at the University of Virginia. With Good Reason producer Matt Darroch has the story. And: Clint Smith is the author of the award-winning book, How the Word is Passed: A Reckoning with the History of Slavery Across America. He travels to 9 historic sites to understand how slavery is remembered and taught. Later in the Show: Gayle Jessup White was on a tour at Monticello with her son when she raised her hand and told the guide she was related to Sally Hemings. She says it was a moment that changed her life forever. Her memoir, Reclamation: Sally Hemings, Thomas Jefferson and a Descendant's Search for Her Family's Lasting Legacy, chronicles her journey to uncovering her family's roots at Monticello. Plus: Descendants recently gained structural parity at James Madison's Montpelier. James French, a descendant himself, represents the descendant community on Montpelier's board.

On this week's episode of Disrupted, Dr. Clint Smith joins us to talk about his recent book, How the Word Is Passed: A Reckoning with the History of Slavery Across America.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On today's episode we chat with Clint Smith a staff writer at The Atlantic. He is the author of the narrative nonfiction book, How the Word Is Passed: A Reckoning With the History of Slavery Across America, and the poetry collection Counting Descent. Episode Transcription About this month's guest: Clint has received fellowships from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, New America, the Emerson Collective, the Art For Justice Fund, Cave Canem, and the National Science Foundation. His essays, poems, and scholarly writing have been published in The New Yorker, The New York Times Magazine, The New Republic, Poetry Magazine, The Paris Review, the Harvard Educational Review, and elsewhere. He is a former National Poetry Slam champion and a recipient of the Jerome J. Shestack Prize from the American Poetry Review. Clint's books: How the Word Is Passed: A Reckoning with the History of Slavery Across America Counting Descent Use promo code: LIBROPODCAST when signing up for a Libro.fm membership to get an extra free credit to use on any audiobook. Audiobooks mentioned in this episode: The Love Songs of W.E.B. Du Bois by Honoree Fanonne Jeffers The Movement Made Us by David J. Dennis Jr. & David J. Dennis Sr. An Immense World by Ed Yong Lost & Found: A Memoir by Kathryn Schulz The Prophets by Robert Jones, Jr. Dirty Work by Eyal Press

Can we move away from caste to create a more equitable society? How do we understand racism by looking at caste and class?    Pull up a seat and join us for a special roundtable episode with the Lagralane Team.    Using the book Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents, by Isabel Wilkerson as a source of exploration, we help define what caste is, and discuss how race has become the basis of our caste system in the United States. We also talk about how caste affects each of us personally – and what we can do to bring about meaningful change.    Through the lens of our multi-ethnic and multi-generational Lagralane Team, we seek to answer the question: can we move away from caste to create a more equitable society?   How can we be the guardians of truth?   Our team has a myriad of perspectives rooted in being adopted, Black, Asian, White, mixed-race, male, female, fluid and beyond … we are representative of America and we have also lived the experiences presented in Caste. We know first-hand that we're all living in a time of discontent created by generations before us. While sipping The Comeuppance cocktail, knowing the task before us is huge, we also ask how can we make change? How can we live today so that healing can begin for so many? How do we share the task of being guardians of truth?    For more spirited discussions, make sure to subscribe to the podcast. And if you've enjoyed thinking and cocktailing along with us, we'd love for you to leave us a review.  Cheers … and Please Drink Responsibly!   Links:   Guests: The Lagralane Team (in alphabetical order)   Peppur Chambers-Soraci -  www.penandpeppur.com  https://www.instagram.com/peppurthehotone/   AJ Dinsmore -  https://writers.coverfly.com/profile/Amanda-Joy-Dinsmore https://www.instagram.com/aj.dinsmore   Courtney Oliphant -  https://www.linkedin.com/in/courtney-oliphant-6546818a/ https://www.instagram.com/cori_anne92/?hl=en,    Matthew Soraci -  www.lagralane.com https://www.facebook.com/matthew.soraci Mentions: Caste:The Origins of Our Discontents by Isabel Wilkerson  https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/653196/caste-oprahs-book-club-by-isabel-wilkerson/   The Gilded Age https://www.hbo.com/the-gilded-age   The Myth of the Model Minority: Asian Americans Facing Racism by Rosalind S. Chou, Joe R. Feagin https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-myth-of-the-model-minority-rosalind-s-chou/1124310184 Model Minority Myth https://www.learningforjustice.org/magazine/what-is-the-model-minority-myth   How the Word is Passed: A Reckoning with the History of Slavery Across America by Clint Smith https://www.littlebrown.com/titles/clint-smith/how-the-word-is-passed/9780316492935/   Belonging - Ben McBride http://www.benmcbride.com/   The Ideal Bartender by Tom Bullock https://punchdrink.com/articles/tom-bollock-and-the-forgotten-legacy-of-african-american-bartenders/ https://euvs-vintage-cocktail-books.cld.bz/1917-The-Ideal-Bartender-by-Tom-Bullock/IV/ Additional Links + Special thanks to: Podcast Haven - https://thepodcasthaven.com/ Liam E. Allen (original music) - @Liamea97   Cocktail Recipe: The Comeuppance Jason renamed the Bizzy Izzy to “The Comeuppance” to fit the conversation around Caste in this episode. Although many believe it is “un-American” to challenge hateful and hurtful tropes or to demand reparations from the past 250+ years, that is exactly what we should be doing right now.  The Bizzy Izzy is a classic drink by an African American bartender in St. Louis from 100 years ago named Tom Bullock, who included this cocktail in his book, “The Ideal Bartender.”   1oz fresh pineapple juice (Dole or fresh) 1oz sherry (Lustau) 1 oz  templeton rye whiskey (Templeton) ¾ oz fresh lemon juice ¾ simple syrup  A couple dashes (or more) of angostura bitters  1 oz chilled club soda  Lemon wheel garnish   Shake and pour into a highball glass. 

We're celebrating Juneteenth today with some of our favorite interviews about the holiday and our history: Clint Smith, staff writer at The Atlantic, award-winning poet, and author of How the Word Is Passed: A Reckoning with the History of Slavery Across America (Little, Brown and Company, 2021), leads listeners through a tour of U.S. monuments and landmarks that explain how slavery has been central in shaping our history, including a visit to Galveston, TX, where Juneteenth originated. Elizabeth Alexander, president of The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, poet, educator, memoirist and scholar, looks back through American history -- both recent and not -- and asks the fundamental question "what does it mean to be Black and free in a country that undermines Black freedom?" as she wrote in an essay for National Geographic. Harvard professor and Texas native Annette Gordon-Reed discusses her book On Juneteenth (Liveright, 2021), the 2021 creation of the new federal holiday based on the events in Texas and why it's important to study our nation's history. Keisha N. Blain, University of Pittsburgh historian and president of the African American Intellectual History Society, author of Set the World on Fire: Black Nationalist Women and the Global Struggle for Freedom (University of Pennsylvania Press, 2018) and Ibram X. Kendi, professor in the Humanities and the founding director of the Boston University Center for Antiracist Research, co-editors of Four Hundred Souls: A Community History of African America, 1619-2019 (One World, 2021), talk about this moment in Black history and their new collection of 80 writers' and 10 poets' take on the American story. These interviews were lightly edited for time and clarity; the original web versions are available here: Touring America's Monuments to Slavery (Jun 18, 2021) Envisioning Black Freedom (Jun 18, 2021) Juneteenth, the Newest Federal Holiday (Jun 30, 2021) A 'Community History' of Black America (Feb 3, 2021)  

This week we talk to our first mystery series author: Jess Montgomery. The first book in her 4-book Kinship mystery series is The Widows which introduces us to Lilly Ross, a wife and mother in 1920s rural Ohio whose husband Daniel, the county sheriff, is killed in the line of duty.  The town council asks Lilly to take over the sheriff's position for the rest of the term and the first crime she wants to investigate is the murder of her husband.  Lilly Ross is inspired by a real Ohio woman named Maud Colins who also became one of the first female sheriffs in the United States after her husband, also the sheriff, was murdered.     Jess' most recent novel, The Echoes, was published this past March and follows Lilly and the townspeople of Kinship, OH as they reckon with ghosts of World War 1 some 10 years later.  Many of the men served. While some, like Lilly's brother, died in The Great War, many others came back with emotional scars that affect their personal choices and the town at large.  You can find Jess Montgomery on instagram at @jessmontgomeryauthor or on her author website, www.jessmontgomeryauthor.com . Follow us on Facebook at The Perks of Being a Book Lover Instagram at @perksofbeingabookoverpod. For show notes for any episode, go to our website at www.perksofbeingabooklover.com.   Books Mentioned in this Episode: 1- The Widows by Jess Montgomery (Kinship series) 2- The Echoes by Jess Montgomery (Kinship series) 3- Shit Cassandra Saw by Gwen Kirby  4- Deer Season by Erin Flanagan 5- How the Word is Passed: A Reckoning with the History of Slavery Across America by Clint Smith 6- The Office of Historical Corrections by Danielle Evans              

This week we talk to our first mystery series author: Jess Montgomery. The first book in her 4-book Kinship mystery series is The Widows which introduces us to Lilly Ross, a wife and mother in 1920s rural Ohio whose husband Daniel, the county sheriff, is killed in the line of duty.  The town council asks Lilly to take over the sheriff's position for the rest of the term and the first crime she wants to investigate is the murder of her husband.  Lilly Ross is inspired by a real Ohio woman named Maud Colins who also became one of the first female sheriffs in the United States after her husband, also the sherrif, was murdered.     Jess' most recent novel, The Echoes, was published this past March and follows Lilly and the townspeople of Kinship, OH as they reckon with ghosts of World War 1 some 10 years later.  Many of the men served. While some, like Lilly's brother, died in The Great War, many others came back with emotional scars that affect their personal choices and the town at large.  You can find Jess Montgomery on instagram at @jessmontgomeryauthor or on her author website, www.jessmontgomeryauthor.com . Follow us on Facebook at The Perks of Being a Book Lover Instagram at @perksofbeingabookoverpod. For show notes for any episode, go to our website at www.perksofbeingabooklover.com. Books Mentioned in this Episode: 1- The Widows by Jess Montgomery (Kinship series) 2- The Echoes by Jess Montgomery (Kinship series) 3- Shit Cassandra Saw by Gwen Kirby  4- Deer Season by Erin Flanagan 5- How the Word is Passed: A Reckoning with the History of Slavery Across America by Clint Smith 6- The Office of Historical Corrections by Danielle Evans

History is taught with textbooks and lectures, but it's also passed down in more informal ways, within families from generation to generation. Different groups of people can become attached to varying stories of the same past, and some narratives are erased or distorted. Writer and scholar Clint Smith takes a close look at the mechanisms and consequences of those distortions in his new book, “How the Word is Passed: A Reckoning With the History of Slavery Across America.” He visited historical sites around the U.S., such as Thomas Jefferson's plantation, Monticello, and a Confederate cemetery, and talked with docents and descendents about how they explain and make sense of what happened in those places. Smith is a staff writer at The Atlantic, and a poet and education scholar. As part of the Winter Words series from Aspen Words, he is interviewed by James Merle Thomas, a curator and art history professor, and the director of the Resnick Center for Herbert Bayer Studies at the Aspen Institute.

How the Word is Passed: A Reckoning with the History of Slavery Across America by Clint Smith. Slavery is in the past, but its legacy lives on. If you have the courage to travel with me, I'll provide a new view of how our country came to be.

I'm talking to writer, teacher, and scholar Dr. Clint Smith about his new book, How the Word Is Passed: A Reckoning with the History of Slavery Across America. We talk about the history of slavery in this country and how we approach, excavate, recognize, and react to that history — and how we have a responsibility and accountability to get the story and the history right. Because when we can be honest about the history, we can begin to acknowledge it, reckon with it, and heal from it. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices