‘Original Sins:’ Author Eve L. Ewing To Present the Bullitt Lecture in American History
Bestselling author, cultural organizer, and Marvel comics writer Eve L. Ewing will present the 2025 Bullitt Lecture in American History about her new book "Original Sins: The (Mis)education of Black and Native Children and the Construction of American Racism.” Hosted by Seattle Public Library (SPL), the lecture will take place on Thursday, Dec. 4 from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at the Central Library Microsoft Auditorium.
“We’re thrilled to host Dr. Ewing as part of the Bullitt Lectures. Her new book offers an important perspective on the American educational system and how it has shaped our shared history,” Stesha Brandon, the Literature & Humanities Program Manager at The Seattle Public Library, said according to a Seattle Public Library press release.
In “Original Sins,” Ewing argues that from the founding of our country, 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 today 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 maintain inequality, Ewing makes the case that we need a profound reevaluation of what schools are supposed to do, and for whom.
Library Journal calls “Original Sins” a “must read for politicians, school board members, education administrators, and teachers.” Publishers Weekly calls the book a “brilliant history” and a “troubling and eye-opening examination of the foundational role educators played in developing America's racial hierarchy.”
The annual Bullitt Lecture is supported by The Seattle Public Library Foundation, author series sponsor Gary Kunis, and media sponsor The Seattle Times, and is presented in partnership with The Elliott Bay Book Company and The Black Heritage of Washington State.
About Eve L. Ewing
Hailing from Chicago, Dr. Eve L. Ewing is the award-winning author of five books: "Electric Arches," “1919,” "Ghosts in the Schoolyard," "Maya and the Robot," and most recently "Original Sins." She is the co-author (with Nate Marshall) of the play "No Blue Memories: The Life of Gwendolyn Brooks" and has written several projects for Marvel Comics. Ewing is an associate professor in the Department of Race, Diaspora, and Indigeneity at the University of Chicago. Her work has been published in The New Yorker, The Atlantic, The New York Times, and many other venues.
About the Bullitt Lecture
The A. Scott Bullitt Lecture in American History is made possible by a gift from the late Priscilla Bullitt Collins in memory of her father, A. Scott Bullitt. Presented annually since 2001, it has highlighted a significant period, event, or individual in American history by featuring presidential historians, popular historians, public intellectuals and professors of American history.
The lecture will take place on Thursday, Dec. 4 from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at the Central Library Microsoft Auditorium, 1000 4th Ave, Seattle, WA. Click here to register, and find out more about SPL’s future plans here.
