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.

BONUS BOOK GIVEAWAY! FAN is giving away copies of Original Sins to randomly selected Zoom attendees. Details on the webinar registration page.

This event suitable for youth 12+. It will be recorded and available on FAN’s website and YouTube channel.