Eve L. Ewing, Ed.D.
Writer, cultural organizer, and Associate Professor at the University of Chicago
Ta-Nehisi Coates
National Book Award-winning author and MacArthur Fellow
Original Sins: The (Mis)education of Black and Native Children and the Construction of American Racism
BONUS BOOK GIVEAWAY! FAN is giving away copies of Original Sins to randomly selected Zoom attendees. Details on the webinar registration page.
If all children could just get an education, the logic goes, they would have the same opportunities later in life. But this historical tour de force makes it clear that the opposite is true: The U.S. school system has played an instrumental role in creating and upholding racial hierarchies, preparing children to expect unequal treatment throughout their lives.
In her new bestselling book Original Sins: The (Mis)education of Black and Native Children and the Construction of American Racism, Eve L. Ewing, Ed.D. (FAN ’18) demonstrates that our schools were designed to propagate the idea of white intellectual superiority, to “civilize” Native students and to prepare Black students for menial labor. Education was not an afterthought for the Founding Fathers; it was envisioned by Thomas Jefferson as an institution that would fortify the country’s racial hierarchy. Ewing argues that these dynamics persist in a curriculum that continues to minimize the horrors of American history. The most insidious aspects of this system fall below the radar in the forms of standardized testing, academic tracking, disciplinary policies, and uneven access to resources.
By demonstrating that it’s in the DNA of American schools to serve as an effective and underacknowledged mechanism maintaining inequality in this country today, Ewing makes the case that we need a profound reevaluation of what schools are supposed to do, and for whom. This book will change the way people understand the place we send our children for eight hours a day.
Ewing is an associate professor in the Department of Race, Diaspora, and Indigeneity at the University of Chicago and the author of four books, including Ghosts in the Schoolyard: Racism and School Closings on Chicago’s South Side. Her work has been published in The New Yorker, The Atlantic, The New York Times, and many other venues.
Ewing will be in conversation with Ta-Nehisi Coates (FAN ’17, ’19), author of The Beautiful Struggle, We Were Eight Years in Power, The Water Dancer, The Message, and Between the World and Me, which won the National Book Award in 2015. He is the recipient of a MacArthur Fellowship.
This event suitable for youth 12+. It will be recorded and available on FAN’s website and YouTube channel.
Event Sponsors
- The Alliance for Early Childhood
- The Avery Coonley School
- Baker Demonstration School
- Beacon Academy
- Bernard Zell Anshe Emet Day School
- Brickton Montessori School
- British International School of Chicago, Lincoln Park
- British International School of Chicago, South Loop
- Chiaravalle Montessori School
- Compass Health Center
- Connections for the Homeless
- Evanston Township High School D202
- Family Service Center
- Foundation 65
- The Frances Xavier Warde School
- Francis W. Parker School
- Glenview Public Library
- Gorton Center
- Haven Youth and Family Services
- Hyde Park Day School
- Illinois Student Assistance Commission
- Kenilworth D38
- Lake Bluff D65
- Lake Forest Academy
- Lake Forest Country Day School
- Latin School of Chicago
- Leo Catholic High School
- Lycée Français de Chicago
- Morgan Park Academy
- Near North Montessori School
- North Shore Country Day
- Northwestern University Office of Neighborhood and Community Relations
- Northwestern University School of Education and Social Policy
- Pope John XXIII School
- Regina Dominican College Preparatory High School
- Resurrection College Prep High School
- Rogers Park Montessori School
- Roycemore School
- Santa Clara University School of Law
- Science & Arts Academy
- The Sonia Shankman Orthogenic School
- Stevenson High School D125
- Township High School D113
- UChicago Network for College Success
- Wilmette Public Library
- Woodlands Academy of the Sacred Heart
- Youth & Opportunity United (Y.O.U.)
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