CLINT SMITH is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of How the Word Is Passed: A Reckoning With the History of Slavery Across America. He is also the author of two books of poetry, Counting Descent and the New York Times bestselling collection Above Ground. He is a staff writer at The Atlantic. Clint taught high school English in Prince George's County, Maryland, where he was named the Christine D. Sarbanes Teacher of the Year by the Maryland Humanities Council. He is the host of the YouTube series Crash Course Black American History. He received his B.A. in English from Davidson College and his Ph.D. in Education from Harvard University. Born and raised in New Orleans, he currently lives in Maryland with his wife and their two children.