Iowa City Today

The Office of Equity and Human Rights and the Iowa City Public Library are hosting a virtual discussion on “How the Word is Passed: A Reckoning with the History of Slavery Across America” by Clint Smith.

The program will take place from 6-7:30 p.m., Tuesday, June 20, 2023, via Zoom. Pre-registration is required. You can sign up here. The program will be facilitated by Abena Sankofa Imhotep, Director of Sankofa Literary and Empowerment Group of Des Moines.

"Beginning in his hometown of New Orleans, Clint Smith leads the reader 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.” - Hatchette Book Group

The Iowa City Public Library has copies of the book available for checkout in various formats and will have a limited number of paperback copies for giveaways as well. Call 319-356-5200 or chat/email via https://icpl.org/ask with any questions.

The Office of Equity and Human Rights is offering a limited number of complimentary copies of the book to persons who reside in Iowa City and who would not financially otherwise be able to participate in the book discussion. To request a copy, please email humanrights@iowa-city.org or call 319-356-5022.

If you will need disability-related accommodations in order to participate in this event, please call 319-356-5022 or humanrights@iowa-city.org. Early requests are strongly encouraged to allow sufficient time to meet your access needs.

Original source can be found here.