Clint Smith’s How the Word is Passed takes the reader on a tour of sights across America (and one in Senegal) to explore how we remember slavery in this country. His travels are a fascinating exploration of the varied ways people interact with history.
I loved this book- I found it readable, thought provoking, and at times a little troubling. Smith shows us that the history of enslavement is so very wrapped in how people commemorate history. His experience visiting the Sons of Confederate Veterans meeting was chilling to read, though it was also unsurprising. A lot of this book is concerned with truth: who tells it, who denies it, who decides which history is true, and how sites convey that truth. The folks in Galveston, celebrating Juneteenth, have a very different view of history and truth than those at Blandford. Indeed, despite the fact that on the whole the public education system does not emphasize the history of slavery, and many visitors reported not having learned about slavery in school, those at Blandford feel it is their version of history which is under attack. It does not matter that their story of the Civil War and enslavement is racist and utterly ahistorical. I found it inspiring then, to read about places like the Whitney Plantation and the Galveston Juneteenth Celebrations, which insist on the truth of the brutality of slavery and, in the case of Juneteenth, black joy.
One piece of this book I found especially thought provoking were the many tour guides Smith spoke to throughout the sites. Some, like Monticello’s tour guides, receive extensive training on how to discuss enslavement and make an effort to engage visitors with the subject, but others, like at the Angola prison or the church at the Confederate cemetery, either feel the subject is irrelevant or are clearly uninformed about the legacies of slavery in this country. Maybe they spared a sentence to placate Smith’s questions, but the topic is considered distasteful.
Tour guides are often a reflection of the institution they represent, but for many thousands of people they are their first contact with a historical authority. They are the bridge between visitor and the capital m Museum. This is not to suggest that visitors see tour guides as an authority- on the contrary, many visitors feel extremely comfortable arguing with or even harassing tour guides based on how the history is told. As we have discussed in class, many tour guides are volunteer positions, especially at smaller sites, or they are paid approximately minimum wage. I feel museums and public history sites with a connection to enslavement have a responsibility to discuss that connection, but I wonder how the industry could change if tour guides were broadly paid a living wage. What sort of candidates could sites attract? How would the “difficult conversations” we have with guests change? Perhaps sites and individual guides would be more willing to engage if the pay was “worth it.”