(WASHINGTON, DC) Katten announced today that the firm hosted award-winning author, poet and scholar Clint Smith as a featured speaker for its US Black History Month program as part of its Perspectives Speaker Series.
"Clint's writing has highlighted how the legacy of slavery still shapes our cities and the stories we share today. His insightful perspective and narrative storytelling remind us that how we learn about and remember history impacts the way we see and live in the present," said Counsel Tracie Bedeaux, Co-Chair of Katten's Black Attorneys Affinity Group.
She welcomed Smith, author of the New York Times bestselling book How the Word is Passed: A Reckoning With the History of Slavery Across America, last month to Katten's Washington, DC, office. During the firm's Black History Month celebration with the theme "African Americans and Labor," he addressed how the historical context of slavery is connected to the labor of Black people in the modern era.
"To look around and say, 'Oh, it's interesting that Black people are disproportionately in these sorts of jobs or in service jobs,' you have to understand the contemporary landscape of inequality, which includes labor, as a direct result of the opportunities that were afforded or not afforded to certain groups of people," Smith said.
Smith also talked about how his upbringing in New Orleans and personal experiences have shaped his perspective on history and identity. His book was borne out of his desire to fill in the gaps of what he wished he better understood when he was younger.
Katten's Perspectives Speaker Series is a program designed to increase cultural awareness, broaden perspectives and inspire dialogue across the firm community on topics ranging from race, history and legislation to best practices regarding inclusion.
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