Mar 22

Mar 22 Original Sins: The (Mis)education of Black and Native Children and the Construction of American Racism

About the book

Author: Eve L. Ewing
Publisher: One World

More info:
The StoryGraph | Goodreads
Note: Content and trigger warnings are provided for those who need them at the bottom of this page. If you don’t need them and don’t want to risk spoilers, don’t scroll past the review.

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My Review

I’d heard nothing but great things about Original Sins, and I had to pick it up for myself. In fact, I covered in in depth and pulled out detailed key takeaways for my Conversation Pushers column on Substack. I’m so glad I did! This is a meticulously researched and excellently written examination of history that everyone who has a child, works in education, or cares about education should read.

Ewing exposes the myth that American schools were designed as a “great equalizer.” Instead, our educational system was deliberately built to serve different purposes for different racial groups. For white students, schools were designed to turn them into model American citizens. For Native students, as many of us know, schools (especially Indian boarding schools) were instruments of forced assimilation designed to “civilize” them by erasing their cultures and languages. And for Black students, schools were meant to give them just enough education (and indoctrination) to become laborers content with their lot in life. The book traces the way schools have continuously evolved to continue to achieve these aims, from Thomas Jefferson’s time through Reconstruction, Jim Crow, and into our present day — where standardized testing, academic “tracking,” and the school-to-prison pipeline continue to drive race-delineated outcomes.

Ewing is a master of her craft, and her arguments are expertly crafted. Despite being largely focused on history, it never feels academic or bogged down in details. It really is a must-read!