Clint Smith grew up in New Orleans until his family had to relocate to Houston in Hurricane Katrina. He has grown up to become one of America’s most powerful young voices, especially when it comes to the value of Black lives.
He’s a former poetry slam champion, and his two TED Talks have a combined audience of more than 7 million views. He teaches writing and literature to prisoners in Washington.
And now he’s working on a book called “How the Word is Passed,” on American historical sites, and how they reckon with – or don’t reckon with – our history with slavery.
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Show notes:
- Smith's TED Talk on the danger of silence
- His TED Talk on how to raise a black son in America
- Becoming a parent in the age of Black Lives Matter
- His book of poetry, "Counting Descent"
Other music in this episode:
- Mystery Mammal, "Nothing Else Matters"
New episodes of SouthBound come out every other Wednesday. Subscribe:
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SouthBound is a production of WFAE. Our host is Tommy Tomlinson. Our audience engagement manager is Joni Deutsch, and our main theme comes from Josh Turner.