All invited to book discussion on history of slavery

09/13/2021 

All SUNY Cortland faculty, staff, students and alumni are invited to participate in a book discussion that will meet both in-person and virtually through the 2021-22 academic year.

The book is Clint Smith’s How the Word is Passed: A Reckoning with the History of Slavery Across America.

To join the discussion, please fill out an online form that asks for your contact information and meeting preference. The first three meetings are scheduled for Friday, Sept. 24, Friday, Oct. 29 and Friday, Nov. 19, all from 1 to 2 p.m. in Sperry Center, Room 309. Registrants will be provided additional details via email about how to join these discussions virtually. In-person space will be limited.

The discussion is designed to be a space to share ideas and insights about what individuals are learning as they read Smith’s important piece of history.

SUNY Cortland’s Cultural and Intellectual Climate Committee (CICC) is using the theme of “Memory” throughout this academic year. Smith’s book tells an intergenerational story of how slavery has shaped collective American history over hundreds of years. It aims to offer a new understanding of the hopeful role that memory and history can play in making sense of the United States.

The book discussion series is co-sponsored by the CICC, the Anti-Racism Task Force, Memorial Library and the History Department. Questions? Contact discussion leaders Evan Faulkenbury, associate professor in the History Department, or Jeremy Pekarek, archivist and instructional services librarian.