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

Ewing was born in Chicago, Illinois, in 1986. She is a teacher, sociologist, author, and poet, currently serving as an associate professor at the University of Chicago’s Department of Race, Diaspora, and Indigeneity. Original Sins is her first work of nonfiction, following the poetry and visual art collection Electric Ashes (2017), and 1919 (2019), which features poems and children’s songs about the drowning of Eugene Williams and the resulting Chicago race riot of 1919.

Original Sins interweaves Ewing’s personal experiences in education and anecdotes from other educators into her research on the history of Black and Indigenous peoples’ education. As a Black educator who has taught at the middle, high, and collegiate levels, Ewing has seen firsthand the mistreatment of and low expectations for Black students that she discusses.

Throughout the text, Ewing avoids using an authoritative tone, instead declaring that her work “is intended to be descriptive, not prescriptive” (13). She identifies problems with Indigenous and Black schooling, tracing its often deeply racist roots to better understand how its modern failings can be addressed today. Her book invites reader discussion and exploration into the struggle to truly address the problems that she outlines.

In her conclusion, Ewing invites readers to imagine an education system that works for Indigenous and Black students instead of against them.