First published 2021
Clint Smith examines how America remembers and forgets its history of slavery through a journey across significant sites. The Atlantic contributor and poet starts in his New Orleans hometown and visits locations that reveal different approaches to confronting the past. He explores Monticello, where Jefferson championed liberty while enslaving over 400 people. He tours the Whitney Plantation, which centers the experiences of enslaved people rather than plantation owners. Smith investigates Angola Prison in Louisiana, built on a former plantation and now a maximum security facility. He walks through Blandford Cemetery among Confederate graves. His research extends to places like downtown Manhattan, where the slave trade left marks often overlooked by daily commuters. Smith connects historical scholarship with contemporary voices to show how slavery's influence persists in American landscapes, holidays like Juneteenth, and entire neighborhoods. The book demonstrates how memory and history can provide new ways of understanding the country's development and ongoing character.
Genres: history, african-american, non-fiction, 21st-century, american-history
Vibes: intimate, lyrical, thought-provoking
Tropes: historical-nonfiction, social-justice
Setting: New Orleans, Monticello, Whitney Plantation, Angola Prison, Blandford Cemetery, Manhattan
Period: Slavery, Juneteenth
336 pages · Hardcover · Little, Brown and Company
Content warnings: racism, slavery