I first heard about this book from my college, as Clint Smith and I have the same alma Mater, but soon after, this book was everywhere. And now that I've read it, I understand why!

Mr. Smith visits a variety of locations, mostly tourism spots, across the country and the world, that are all related to slavery, and explores how they understand and approach that issue, and what we can learn from them, and what they're doing well or not in their presentation of this historical fact that is so central to the founding of America. Some are obvious, like Monticello, but others, like the Status of Liberty, I was surprised to know had any relationship to slavery. And some, like Angola Prison, were truly eye-opening, even just hearing about his visit (wow, how disturbingly close the prison is to an 1800s plantation, is chilling.) Others are now on my bucket list like the Whitney Plantation. He's so open in his questions, in how his own race (Black) might be affecting the answers, and in exploring new experiences (like attending a Confederate reenactment). It was a very accessible way to explore these issues and Mr. Smith is great at allowing people to draw their own conclusions. I learned a ton, and will not be able to go to places like Mount Vernon again without asking more probing questions, and also looking at the racial makeup of the tour group and weighing how that impacts the answer.

In a year in which racial issues have constantly been at the forefront of the news, honestly, I was hesitant to read another book about race, worried it would be super depressing and also that it might tax the resourced of this well-meaning but tired middle-aged white woman. Instead, I wish the book was twice as long. Mr. Smith can keep opening my eyes about these issues and I will absolutely listen. I don't know how he did it, as a lot of the information here is intrinsically heart-wrenching and reprehensible, but I came away from this book feeling hope, not downtrodden. Also, just to mention that I listened to the audiobook which was read by the author, and his voice is so mellifluous and sonorous, I think he should consider a side career of being a professional narrator. I could listen to him all day.

I borrowed this audiobook from my local library via Libby.

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