Poetically guides the reader through the darkest moments of US and global history and the contemporary questions this history raises.

Required reading to learn about the effects of slavery on modern American culture 

A beautifully written excavation of the history of slavery, Jim Crow, and racism in America. The book is shaped around visits to major historic sites, with the author using those conversations and visits to interrogate our thinking and communicating about slavery. He also weaves in well sourced and convincing counterpoints to teach the reader the lie, so they can recognize it as false when they encounter it again. 

This book took me so long to read, because it was so much information and emotion to digest in each sentence—but it was well worth the read. It was well written and educational, even for someone who considers herself relatively well-educated on American and world history. I really and truly cannot recommend this book enough to everyone.

An absolute must read for everyone. So beautifully written and engaging. I recommend reading with a highlighter and some tabs. 

I loved the perspective author Clint Smith chose to take in this book. By combining historical research, journalistic-style interviews, and personal reflections, he exemplifies the theme of How the Word is Passed; that we need to get the facts of our history from those who lived it.
 
In doing so, he also explores the damage done by systemic repression of the true history of the United States. He skillfully critiques the education system, America's legal and political system, the medicine industry, and everything in between. It's truly astounding just how much history has been altered in the United States to preserve the sparkling image of freedom and justice our country claims to represent. It's equally harrowing to realize that the sheer amount of information here barely touches the surface of what the United States has swept under the rug, how many more places the author could have visited, how many more interviews could have been had (and how many possible interviewees have been lost), how many more organizations and people could have been implicated. Staggering.

Clint Smith is also very clearly a skilled writer, and is able to weave in beautiful prose and breath-taking moments of self-reflection. 

It's probably trite at this point to call books like this a "must read", but this is absolutely a must read.

NYT Notable Books 2021: 21/100

This was a fascinating read I never would have come across without the NYT list, so I'm grateful to have found it. Through his research, Smith visits eight significant sites related to American slavery. Each site offers new insight and a new part of the history of slavery and Smith's story is told well. I especially appreciated that he went out of his way to speak with people, Black, white, old, young, like him or not to get their insights into the place. Obviously some of these conversations must have been uncomfortable but they added so much perspective to the book that might have been otherwise lost. 

a informative book on the origins of chattel slavery to its modern connections of the prison industrial complex and civil rights. Smith breaks down common misconceptions and whitewashed history through each chapter as he visits a different place. my only complaint is that it’s not longer.