Understanding the tragic issue of slavery and its ongoing historical impact on the country has been a critical part of America's recent reckoning on race. The Atlantic's Clint Smith has been one of the country's leading writers on this essential but complex topic for the past several years. In one of the most anticipated books of the year, How the Word Is Passed: A Reckoning with the History of Slavery Across America, Smith explores how slavery has been central in shaping our nation's collective history and ourselves.

In Smith's first work of nonfiction, the author takes readers through a national tour of monuments and landmarks—those that are honest about the past and those that are not. In this unique way, Smith explores the legacy of slavery and its vivid imprint on centuries of American history. He describes Confederate Army cemeteries, former plantations, modern-day prisons, and other historical sites, showing how our past continually connects with the present, and helping us understand how slavery is remembered and misremembered—and why it matters to all Americans today.

In this conversation, Smith will be joined by Brittany Packnett Cunningham, a young emerging leader at the intersection of culture, justice and policy. Brittany serves as an NBC News and MSNBC contributor and host of "Undistracted," an intersectional news and justice podcast. Brittany is the founder and principal of Love & Power Works, a full-service social impact and equity agency.

Please join us for this critically important conversation on history and memory—and how they connect with the present.