How is Smith's text an educational tool for his reader and a documentation of his own education?

In his prologue, Smith conveys his inspirations behind and intents for How the Word Is Passed. He explains that after a Robert E. Lee statue was taken down in his New Orleans hometown, he became obsessed with "how slavery is remembered and reckoned with" as well as with "teaching myself all of the things I wish someone had taught me long ago" (6). Moved by the statue's removal, Smith ventures out to a variety of historical sites in order to better understand his nation's history. These experiences teach him about America's fraught past. His descriptions of his trips to these sites in turn act as educational documents for his reader.

How does the author use his travels to structure his text?

In the prologue, the author explains the way in which...