Who is Eloi Coly from the nonfiction book, How the Word Is Passed?

Smith describes his meeting and conversation with Eloi Coly in the chapter "Gorée Island." Eloi is "the curator and site manager of the House of Slaves" located on Gorée Island (247). During Smith's conversation with Eloi, Eloi repeatedly asserts the importance of interrogating and dismantling preexisting historical representations. He believes that "it's very important to keep the memory" of a place like the House of Slaves, in that it forces the public to understand its own national history (248). At the same time, he believes that deconstructing history allows one to reconstruct the past and present more accurately and more sustainably. Eloi's ideas second Smith's overarching notions regarding history, the past, and education.