“Poet, sociologist, and cultural organizer Ewing again turns her incisive, scholarly eye to education, racism, and American society. A brightly intelligent, uncompromising, timely, and deeply clarifying investigation.”—Booklist, starred review
“A troubling and eye-opening examination of the foundational role educators played in developing America’s racial hierarchy.”—Publishers Weekly, starred review
“Why is the American school system neglecting so many of its students? In this damning investigation, the award-winning author and activist posits that it may be because schools were designed to do just that. . . . Though the argument of this book is bleak, it illuminates a path for a more just future that is nothing short of dazzling.”—Oprah Daily, “The 25 Most Anticipated Books of 2025”
“Eve L. Ewing is not only a remarkable writer, she is also a singular educator. In Original Sins, she makes clear how our country’s schools have intentionally configured the contemporary landscape of inequality. Exhaustively researched and exquisitely written, Original Sins is breathtaking.”—Clint Smith, author of How the Word Is Passed
“Original Sins will transform the way you see this country. With a clear, unflinching voice, Ewing challenges us to ask new questions about our own educational experience and our children’s, starting with the pledge of allegiance first thing in the morning.”—Michelle Alexander, author of The New Jim Crow
“A summons to collective struggle and imagining where dreams, memories, and care are woven together as the building blocks of a new vision of ‘schools for us.’”—Sandy Grande, author of Red Pedagogy
“Eve L. Ewing, one of the twenty-first century’s greatest intellectuals, proves that racism, colonialism, and carcerality started in the school. By reckoning with the violent, dehumanizing history of Black and Indigenous schooling, Ewing finds in the resistance of students and renegade teachers a path toward a life-affirming education.”—Robin D. G. Kelley, author of Freedom Dreams
“Original Sins is a commitment to being true about the past in order to truly have a future. Fiercely hopeful, this is a book you will read, and then want everyone in your life to read—a book to be read in community.”—Eve Tuck, co-editor of Indigenous and Decolonizing Studies in Education
“Reimagining schools through a communal practice of braiding, Ewing invites readers to consider the power of education toward liberation—schools as collective sites where we can dream and grow our knowledge to building new worlds based on ethical relationships of care.”—Leanne Betasamosake Simpson, author of As We Have Always Done
“Eve L. Ewing lays the bare the core project of dispossession and race-making in American education and statecraft. . . . an extraordinary contribution to political history, studies in education and shared futures. The book is a must-read.”—Audra Simpson, author of Mohawk Interruptus
“A fascinating and eye-opening look at how American schools have helped build and reinforce an infrastructure of racial inequality . . . a must-read for every American parent and educator.”—Esquire (Most Anticipated Books of 2025)