Agreed
Author of How the Word Is Passed, Above Ground, and Counting Descent. Writer, The Atlantic.
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Agreed
A draw would have been a fair result, but not much you can do about a free kick like that good lord
Today marks 20 years since Hurricane Katrina made landfall. One last thing I wanted to share is this video we did as part of Crash Course Black American History that examines the storm and its aftermath. Thinking about all my New Orleans people today. And always. youtu.be/VmqZvlj07-w
Today marks 20 years since Hurricane Katrina made landfall. One last thing I wanted to share is this video we did as part of Crash Course Black American History that examines the storm and its aftermath. Thinking about all my New Orleans people today. And always. youtu.be/VmqZvlj07-w
šļøON AIR: It's been 20 years since Hurricane Katrina struck. We're speaking to New Orleans-born poet and Atlantic staff writer @clintsmithiii.bsky.social about the destruction of his hometown and its recovery. ā What was returning home from a natural disaster like for you? š» Listen:
Joined Michel Martin on NPRās Morning Edition to discuss the 20th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina. www.npr.org/2025/08/26/n...
Looking forward to this conversation tonight with the good folks at @zinnedproject.bsky.social discussing my young readers edition of How The Word Is Passed, out next month. Virtual, free, and open to anyone. 25 attendees will also get a free book. Join us! www.zinnedproject.org/news/how-the...
Looking forward to this conversation tonight with the good folks at @zinnedproject.bsky.social discussing my young readers edition of How The Word Is Passed, out next month. Virtual, free, and open to anyone. 25 attendees will also get a free book. Join us! www.zinnedproject.org/news/how-the...
Oh man, this is so good ā¤ļø www.arsenal.com/news/eze-usi...
Enslaved Black women were particularly vulnerable to insidious and unrelenting sexual violence at the hands of their enslavers. In his 1857 book, William Anderson, born enslaved in Virginia, describes this:
Itās remarkable
Max Dowman being 15 years old is just unreal. What a player
Having read @clintsmithiii.bsky.social's piece in The Atlantic, "Actually Slavery Was That Bad"āwhich, as words must, understates the truth of that titleāI've just found, watched the first episode of, and subscribed to his "Crash Course Black American History" Youtube series. I commend it to you.
Please read & share this article by @clintsmithiii.bsky.social with heart rendering testimonials of enslavement & "Last Seen" ads. And for every young person, teacher, librarian you know, get them a copy of the young readers edition of "How the Word Is Passed" www.zinnedproject.org/materials/ho...
a thought i have reading @clintsmithiii.bsky.socialās wonderful piece is that one reason the administration wants to erase any mention of the worst of our past is because it is intent on recapitulating those atrocities www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archiv...
The MAGA movement is focused on touting only the exceptional parts of our past ābecause having to look too closely at the disturbing parts of American history would mean having to look closely at the disturbing parts of themselves,ā Clint Smith argues:
I debated writing this. It can feel tempting, upon encountering yet another instance of this administrationās racism, to let it be. How many ways can you say the same thing over and over again? And yet we have to write it down, if for nothing else, so those who come after us know we were against it.
Appreciate you reading and sharing, Jamelle
I debated writing this. It can feel tempting, upon encountering yet another instance of this administrationās racism, to let it be. How many ways can you say the same thing over and over again? And yet we have to write it down, if for nothing else, so those who come after us know we were against it.
"When @clintsmithiii.bsky.social was in high school, Hurricane Katrina hit. āI saw that the walls were covered with mold,ā he writes of his home post-storm. āBlue-green spores were everywhere.ā Twenty years later, Smith reflects on life before, and after, the storm:"
20 years ago this month, Hurricane Katrina struck New Orleans. For so many New Orleanians, our lives are demarcated by this moment. If someone ask you about an event or memory from the past, we say āwas it before or after the storm?ā On this twentieth anniversary, I wrote about going back home.
20 years ago this month, Hurricane Katrina struck New Orleans. For so many New Orleanians, our lives are demarcated by this moment. If someone ask you about an event or memory from the past, we say āwas it before or after the storm?ā On this twentieth anniversary, I wrote about going back home.
š 7/16; 9:30a ET šOnline Join us for Katrinaās America, a day-long event exploring the legacy of Hurricane Katrina. š£ļø Vann R. Newkirk II, @drtedj.bsky.social, @sherifink.bsky.social, @clintsmithiii.bsky.social, @nhannahjones.bsky.social, & more. #NewAmericaEvents go.newamerica.org/katrinasamer...
š§µ Earlier this year, I traveled to East Asia for a story about whether South Korea and Japan will pursue nuclear weapons as China continues its nuclear build-up and the U.S. becomes a (much) less reliable ally. www.theatlantic.com/magazine/arc...
But for the arbitrary nature of birth and circumstance, any of us could be living in poverty, dependent upon assistance to put food on the table, to take our children to the doctor, and to pull ourselves out of debt. The lack of empathy, the pure callousness on display in this bill, is infuriating.
From @clintsmithiii.bsky.social's book, Counting Descent. #poem #books #writing
And if you donāt necessarily have a young person in your life but you want to help this book reach students, you can order from Loyalty and just leave a note in the comment box saying āDONATEā and weāll donate however many books you buy to local schools.
Advanced copies of the Young Readers Edition of How the Word Is Passed have arrived itās got me really excited about getting this book into the hands of young people. Iām also excited to be partnering with Loyalty Books to provide signed/personalized copies. loyaltybookstores.com/book/9780316...
At night, Toni Morrison worked on her novels. By day, she was the first Black female senior-editor at Random House. She championed a fresh generation of authors, @clintsmithiii.bsky.social writes. A new book chronicles her time as an editor:
Toni Morrison is one of the greatest writers to ever live. What many donāt know, is that she was also the first Black woman to become a senior editor at Random House. I wrote about a new book that discusses how she edited by day, wrote by night, and ushered in a new generation of Black writers.
Toni Morrison is one of the greatest writers to ever live. What many donāt know, is that she was also the first Black woman to become a senior editor at Random House. I wrote about a new book that discusses how she edited by day, wrote by night, and ushered in a new generation of Black writers.
A brutal, extraordinary story
Coco Gauff what a legend
This PSG team is going to be very very good for many many years.
The first screening of Ryan Cooglerās āSinnersā in Clarksdale, Mississippi. This is the first time a lot of people in Clarksdale have been abled to watch the film for the first time. Ryan Coogler, Zinzi Evans, and Miles Caton were all in attendance. šø: @/Carmen_A_Jude (on X)
If this is even remotely accurate, Elon Musk and Donald Trump have killed more people in several months than the Iraq war killed in a decade
It should not need to be said, and it should not be controversial to say it, but: Starving children is wrong. I wrote for @theatlantic.com about the horror of the Palestinian people needlessly starving while food is within reach: www.theatlantic.com/family/archi...
CHAMPIONS OF EUROPE!!
The church said it's terminating a decades-long partnership with the federal government to help refugees arriving in the U.S., citing moral opposition to resettling white Afrikaners from South Africa.
Credit to PSG, a really excellent team
Less than idealā¦
TODAY IS THE DAY ARSENAL LETS MAKE IT HAPPEN I BELIEVE IN YOU ALSO PLEASE I AM BEGGING YOU
What an image! Venezuelan men who narrowly avoided being imprisoned by Trump in El Salvador without trial (saved by the Supreme Court) spelled out an SOS to a @reuters.com camera drone observing the Bluebonnet ICE facility. 11 days ago, buses to the airport were turned around at the last second.
More than 80 Harvard faculty members have signed on to a pledge to donate 10% of their paycheck to support staff and students, as long as the University resists Trump's unlawful demands. I am so proud of my colleagues. docs.google.com/document/d/1...
Besides Pele, is Lamine Yamal the best 17-year-old player of all time?
Giannis come to the Pelicans
It could have been much much worse. We go again next week.
Wow they are quite good
Would give anything to be at The Emirates tonight
šļøON AIR: We're speaking with @clintsmithiii.bsky.social and the Museum of the African Diaspora's Key Jo Lee about the battle over how American history is told. āWhat's your reaction to the Trump order to remove "improper ideology" from museums and monuments? š» Listen:
"The National Museum of African American History and Culture is not a place that traffics in improper ideology," Clint Smith writes. "It is a museum that recognizes that America has been suffused in improper ideologies for most of its history." https://theatln.tc/81hXXEqK
In an executive order, Trump targeted the Smithsonian and the National Museum of African American History & Culture suggesting that it is ādivisiveā and pedaling āimproper ideology.ā So, I took a trip back to the museum, and what I saw was a place trying to tell the unvarnished truth about America.
What does it mean for something to be āimproperā if the administrationās understanding of what is acceptable excludes anything that might make white Americans feel bad? www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archiv...
In an executive order, Trump targeted the Smithsonian and the National Museum of African American History & Culture suggesting that it is ādivisiveā and pedaling āimproper ideology.ā So, I took a trip back to the museum, and what I saw was a place trying to tell the unvarnished truth about America.
This is an obvious point, but cannot overstated. There is an enormous difference between deporting someone - where they get off a plane as a free citizen in their home country AND FUNNELING THEM INTO A BRUTAL PRISON FROM WHICH THEY HAVE NO CHANCE OF EVER EMERGING!!!
DOGE's latest efficiency is halting $500 million in food deliveries to the nation's food banks. www.cnn.com/2025/03/22/p...
The Trump administration has quietly doubled down on its decision to stop sending emergency food to children starving in Bangladesh, Somalia, and other countries. Without urgent intervention, these children might die within months, @hana-kiros.bsky.social reports. https://theatln.tc/kQAZFJJw
I look at close to 100 stories a week and even more outside of work. Iāve done this ten years. This is among the most horrific things Iāve ever read ā testimony from dying children whose access to medicine has been cut off by the Trump administration. www.npr.org/sections/goa...
Arsenal really beat Madrid home and away and truly were the better team. Canāt believe it. Incredible work from the boys. Huge credit to Arteta. I donāt think all our fans appreciate how solid he has made us.
Amazing stuff again! Arsenal deserved to win both legs of this quarter-final, Saka's goal brilliant, and Madrid only scored because of a mistake you'll probably never see Saliba make again in his career. 5-1 on aggregate, Rice superb over both games, but a hugely impressive collective effort too.š„
Saliba noooooooooooo
SAKAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
My heart rate has been all over the place
TODAY IS THE DAY ARSENAL
Parkway!
Bowled over by Quinnās generosity here. We created this young readersā edition with librarians and educators top of mind. Those who are on the front lines of helping to ensure that our kids understand American history fully and honestly. Thankful heās sharing it with his community in this way.
This is right. The fact that theyāre doing this to āinnocent peopleā is not irrelevant, but itās ultimately not the point. People convicted of crimes have rights too. And you can be damn sure that if they want to convict them - or me, or you - of something, they will.
Itās so hard to choose. I think I have to go with goal 2 simply for my feeling of astonishment at watching it happen a second time in 12 minutes
I have consumed so much Arsenal content since yesterday and I cannot stop.
What a night, what a performance from this far from 100% team, one of the great European nights at the Emirates. Declan Rice has produced two of the greatest free kicks you'll ever see at this level, and we 100% deserved that third goal too. Incredible. This team deserves so much love. #arsenal
Historic night for Arsenal. Unbelievable.
MIDDLE NAME MERINO
BRING ME THE BIRTH CERTIFICATES I AM CHANGING ALL MY CHILDRENāS NAMES TO DECLAN RICE
Courtois is ridiculous
DECLAN RICE MY HERO
We missed Saka so much
Thanks, Kevin!
One of the most thoughtful introductions to the many challenges that Americans still face in coming to terms with the history and legacy of slavery and white supremacy at historic sites around the country. šļø Perfect for the classroom. #sschat #historyteacher #edusky
Young readers will need this esp in schools that are abandoning actual history for whitewashed mythology
Thank you for sharing it with your students!
Thanks so much!
Thank you!
The Spanish translation of How the Word Is Passed is out this week. Thank you to my publisher @capitanswing.bsky.social and my translator Julia GĆ³mez Saez for making this possible.
Anyone 10 and up!
All to say, Iāve spent the past year working with the brilliant Sonja Cherry-Paul to adapt HTWIP for young readers. Weāve worked hard to keep much of the original narrative and language intact, while creating a leaner, more accessible, age-appropriate version for young people ages 10 and up.
At some point, I realized, if I could provide an additional resource that would be helpful to teachers in classroomsāas well as parents trying to have these conversations with their own kidsāthen I should do it.
They have attempted to ban books, eradicate classes, and frighten teachers into submission. This reality has only been accelerated by our current administration and the flurry of executive orders coming from the White House.
But over the past few years, weāve also seen the way that some people in positions of power have attempted to distort, misrepresent, and erase central parts of Black American history from our schools and curriculums.
Teachers, as you all know, are truly my people. One of the central animating forces of my writing life is to create work to is helpful for educators and their classroomsāfew things mean more to me than the fact that my work is taught in schools.
I hadnāt originally intended to write a young readersā edition of How the Word Is Passed. But as Iāve spent past four years traveling across the country discussing the book, Iāve been consistently asked by people, teachers in particular, if Iād consider doing an adaptation for a younger audience.
How the Word Is Passed (Adapted for Young Readers) will be out September 2nd and is now available for pre-order. Canāt wait for you all to read it. Shout out to teachers. This is for yāall. www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/clint...
Honored to have How the Word Is Passed included on Kirkus Reviewsā Best Books of the Century list alongside so many writers I love and admire. www.kirkusreviews.com/news-and-fea...
Ruth Bonner, the woman who helped open the NMAAHC in 2016, was the *daughter* of a man born into slavery. My grandfatherās grandfather was enslaved. One of the most essential functions of the museum, is that it shows us how the history weāve been told was long ago was actually not long ago at all.
My grandfather was born in 1930s Mississippi, my grandmother in 1930s Florida. They, like millions of other Black Americans, remember living in an era of racial apartheid in the American South. It is a history that the NMAAHC captures with rigor, with honesty, with humanity. It is essential.
A few years ago I visited the National Museum of African American History & Culture with my grandparents. When we stepped out of the building my grandmother kept repeating the words āI lived it. I lived it. I lived it.ā Sheās still here. That history is still in her bones. You can never erase that.
This is a very important point. Breathlessly vague headlines and summaries of these executive orders created for the executive powers it does not have. This kind of press contributed to authoritarian regime change.
There are many wild things in Trump's EO about History but one that especially caught my eye was the complaint that the American Art Museum promoted the view that "race is not a biological reality." It's not! That's a true statement! The idea that race is biological was the foundation of racism!
![Once widely respected as a symbol of American excellence and a global icon of cultural achievement, the Smithsonian Institution has, in recent years, come under the influence of a divisive, race-centered ideology. This shift has promoted narratives that portray American and Western values as inherently harmful and oppressive. For example, the Smithsonian American Art Museum today features āThe Shape of Power: Stories of Race and American Sculpture,ā an exhibit representing that ā[s]ocieties including the United States have used race to establish and maintain systems of power, privilege, and disenfranchisement.ā The exhibit further claims that āsculpture has been a powerful tool in promoting scientific racismā and promotes the view that race is not a biological reality but a social construct, stating āRace is a human invention.ā](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:kok4aqdr3qnsj6ktfkq76kqz/bafkreiaggdzzsf6csdxcwtovgd6qm6o52ruewpebhpyqaehschmrdjokzq@jpeg "Click to view full size")