Join poet, writer and podcast host Clint Smith as he shares a living, breathing kind of history that is made unforgettable in the telling.

How the Word is Passed is the story of Clint Smith's visits to seven places that the work and lives of enslaved people built, but it is much more than a travelogue. 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.

For this exclusive virtual event, Clint will share how the history of slavery is not only relevant today but alive today. In conversation, Clint reveals how slavery is hidden in plain sight, introducing us to the men and women who have devoted their lives to understanding what so many of us do not know and, finally, by letting us walk in his shoes as he learns these truths.

Speaking both to history and activism, the past and the present, this enlightening and thought-provoking event will leave you feeling empowered by the knowledge gained from Smith's deep understanding.

Subtly devastating in it’s clear-headed and measured approach, Smith’s moving travelogue visits seven iconic US buildings constructed by enslaved Black labour and forces the current generation to acknowledge the hidden legacy of slavery.

offer an intergenerational story of how slavery has been central in shaping America's collective history.

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 America'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 neighbourhoods 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 non-fiction 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 the United States and how it has come to be.