The Office of Equity and Human Rights and the Iowa City Public Library are hosting a virtual discussion on “How the Word is Passed: A Reckoning with the History of Slavery Across America” by Clint Smith.

The program will take place from 6-7:30 p.m., Tuesday, June 20, 2023, via Zoom. Pre-registration is required. You can sign up here. The program will be facilitated by Abena Sankofa Imhotep, Director of Sankofa Literary and Empowerment Group of Des Moines.

“Beginning in his hometown of New Orleans, Clint Smith leads the reader on an unforgettable tour of monuments and landmarks—those that are honest about the past and those that are not—that offer an intergenerational story of how slavery has been central in shaping our nation’s collective history, and ourselves. 

Informed by scholarship and brought to life by the story of people living today, Smith’s debut work of nonfiction 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 our country and how it has come to be.” – Hatchette Book Group

If you will need disability-related accommodations in order to participate in this event, please call 319-356-5022 or [email protected]. Early requests are strongly encouraged to allow sufficient time to meet your access needs.