History

Over the course of How the Word Is Passed, the author uses his visits to eight historical sites in order to explore the history of slavery in the United States. He introduces this thematic interest in the text’s prologue, explaining that “In How the Word Is Passed I travel to eight places in the United States as well as one abroad to understand how each reckons with its relationship to the history of American slavery” (7). This network of “plantations, prisons, cemeteries, museums, memorials, houses, historical landmarks, and cities” offers Smith a gateway into his overarching considerations (7). In “Monticello Plantation,” for example, Smith’s trip to “Thomas Jefferson’s plantation” helps him to see the importance of “telling history by telling the full story, more of the story of everyone who lived [at Monticello], not just certain people who were able to tell their stories” (33, Smith’s italics...