How The Word Is Passed
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So I believe in the idea of America. I don’t believe that this country was perfect. I don’t believe it is perfect. I don’t believe it’s going to be perfect. I believe that the journey to make this a better place is worth the effort and that the United States, if you conceive it not so much as a place to be in but an idea to believe in, it is worth fighting for.”
How the Word is Passed is one of those books that you know is going to be heavy reading, but is worth the effort. I paired it with citrus infused ice water - some books need to be read sober and fully present. Clint Smith's writing is very engaging, and he does a fabulous job with the structure of the book. With each new topic he'll start with the high level information, then immediately follow with the context - why does this information matter? What else do you need to know to fully understand? And then whenever possible, he adds the perspective of those around it; the people working to better the general public's understanding and those who may live adjacent to it without ever looking closely enough to truly know the topic.
Despite the heavy subject matter, How the Word is Passed is a surprisingly positive read. Smith treats each topic he covers with grace and dignity, recognizing the humanity even of those who would seek to deny it to others. There was a distinct emphasis on the helpers - the people working to better tell our history, and who he learned from as he was researching. I’m adding this to my ‘must-read’ list for everyone, but it will be a go-to recommendation for people looking for an entry point into learning more about the racial politics of the US. Overall it is a comprehensive and compassionate history of a dark institution, complete with all the context you could possibly ask for.
I particularly appreciated his section on Thomas Jefferson. Jefferson has been lionized as a beloved founding father, so his moral struggles have been quietly glossed over in most history classes. But to focus only on the good is to do the man a disservice.
What’s fascinating about Jefferson is that this is a flaw of which he was wholly cognizant. In Notes on the State of Virginia, he wrote, “There must doubtless be an unhappy influence on the manners of our people produced by the existence of slavery among us. The whole commerce between master and slave is a perpetual exercise of the most boisterous passions, the most unremitting despotism on the one part, and degrading submissions on the other.
Our society can only improve if people are willing to put in the hard work to push themselves and each other to be a slightly better version tomorrow compared to today. Failing to acknowledge the full story of our founding fathers prevents us from acknowledging the hard work they put in; prevents us from realizing that if they weren't perfect, we don't need to be either. We just need to be willing to keep trying.
