Eve Ewing Revisited

Eve Ewing Revisited

Author: Andrew Lefkowits, Val Brown, Courtney Mykytyn August 13, 2025 Duration: 1:08:27
Original Sins: The (Mis)education of Black and Native Children and the Construction of American Racism is the Integrated Schools Book Club http://integratedschools.org/book-club/ pick for the fall. So we thought we'd revisit our episode with Dr. Ewing. If you've never attended Book Club, it's a wonderful to chance to chat with folks from around the country who are interested in school integration. We have small groups and great facilitators who make sure the conversation flows. Book Club is free! Register now! - http://integratedschools.org/book-club/ ------------------------- Public education is touted as the bedrock of democracy, a leveler of playing fields, and our best tool to create active, engaged citizens. And while that vision is powerful, Dr. Eve L. Ewing argues that it was never intended to be those things for Black or Native students. In fact, her new book, Original Sins: The (MIs)education of Black and Native Children and the Construction of American Racism, maintains that schooling in America was created to prepare White kids for leadership, Black kids for subjugation, and Native kids for erasure. She joins us to discuss these three separate strands of education and the tools of discipline and punishment, implied intellectual inferiority, and preparation for economic subjugation used to support them. She leaves us with love, justice and a focus on flourishing as possible antidotes to help us imagine something better. LINKS: Ghosts in the Schoolyard: Racism and School Closings on Chicago's South Side - https://bookshop.org/a/18658/9780226526164 Original Sins: The (Mis)education of Black and Native Children and the Construction of AmericanRacism - https://bookshop.org/a/18658/9780593243701 Bughouse Square - Eve Ewing's Podcast with co-ghost, Studs Terkel - https://studsterkel.wfmt.com/bughouse-square Faith Ringgold - United States of Attica, 1971 - https://whitney.org/collection/works/44678 Gwendolyn Brooks - We Real Cool - https://poets.org/poem/we-real-cool How Watermelons Became a Racist Trope - William R. Black in The Atlantic - https://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2014/12/how-watermelons-became-a-racist-trope/383529/ The Abigail Fisher case - https://www.propublica.org/article/a-colorblind-constitution-what-abigail-fishers-affirmative-action-case-is-r Project a Black Planet: The Art and Culture of Panafrica - currently at the Art Institute Chicago - https://www.artic.edu/exhibitions/10157/project-a-black-planet-the-art-and-culture-of-panafrica Braiding Sweetgrass - Robin Wall Kimmerer - https://bookshop.org/a/18658/9781571313560 S7E9 – Revisiting Heather McGhee on How Racism Hurts Us All - https://integratedschools.org/podcast/mcgheerevisited/ Use these links or start at our Bookshop.org storefront to support local bookstores, and send a portion of the proceeds back to us. - https://bookshop.org/shop/IntegratedSchools Join our Patreon to support this work, and connect with us and other listeners to discuss these issues even further. - https://www.patreon.com/integratedschools Let us know what you think of this episode, suggest future topics, or share your story with us – IntegratedSchools on Facebook, or email us podcast@integratedschools.org. The Integrated Schools Podcast was created by Courtney Mykytyn and Andrew Lefkowits. This episode was produced by Andrew Lefkowits and Val Brown. It was edited, and mixed by Andrew Lefkowits. Music by Kevin Casey. Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

It’s easy to talk about school integration in the abstract, but what does it actually look like on the ground for families navigating these choices every day? The Integrated Schools Podcast moves beyond theory into the messy, personal realities of race, parenting, and educational equity. Hosted by Andrew Lefkowits, a White dad from Denver, and Val Brown, a Black mom from North Carolina, along with co-author Courtney Mykytyn, this podcast centers conversations that deliberately sit with discomfort and complexity. Each episode brings in voices from across the spectrum-parents making tough school decisions, educators in the trenches, researchers, and community organizers-to explore why our schools remain so segregated and what it truly means to work toward integration. You’ll hear candid stories about navigating predominantly white spaces, confronting personal bias, and the small, daily actions that either challenge or uphold systemic inequities. This isn’t a podcast offering easy answers; instead, it provides a necessary space to listen, reflect, and engage with the nuanced layers of a deeply entrenched issue. The dialogue here is built on the belief that honest, sometimes difficult talk is a prerequisite for meaningful change, both in our schools and in ourselves.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 100

The Integrated Schools Podcast
Podcast Episodes
Reflections on Season 12 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 31:41
As we wrap up another school year, we're taking a moment to reflect on the conversations, challenges, and lessons that shaped Season 12. This year, we explored what it means to build belonging, strengthen community, advo…
REVISIT: Calling In with Loretta Ross [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:11:40
We're revisiting our conversation with Dr. Loretta Ross because her book, Calling In: How to Start Making Change with Those You’d Rather Cancel, is the Integrated Schools book club pick for this month. You can register f…
REVISIT: Finding Hope in Solidarity with Heather McGhee [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:00:54
We’re going back to the archives today to revisit a conversation with Heather McGhee. In February of 2021, Heather McGhee’s book, The Sum of Us came out. With a focus on the ways in which racism harms everyone, and the p…
Seeds of Resistance: The Lemon Grove Legacy [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 50:07
We're joined by YA author, María Dolores Águila to uncover the largely untold story of the 1931 Lemon Grove Incident—the first successful school desegregation case in California, led by Mexican and Mexican American famil…
Spatial Injustice: School Closures as a Form of Educational Redlining [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:01:03
What happens when we stop thinking about schools as buildings—and start seeing them as the ecosystems that hold our communities together? In this episode, we sit with Dr. Mara Tieken to explore school closures not as iso…
Legacy and Community: Bridging Generations through History [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 50:52
In this episode, Andrew and Dr. Val are joined by Logan Tilton, a history student at North Carolina Central University and one of the Levine Museum of the New South’s fellowship students. Together, they reflect on what i…
Staying Power with Danielle Wingfield [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 51:42
What does it mean to outlast backlash? In this episode, we’re joined by Dr. Danielle Wingfield—legal historian, law professor, and public education advocate—whose work sits at the intersection of history, civil rights, d…
Demystifying Disability with Emily Ladau [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 56:35
Join the conversation by registering for one of our upcoming Book Club sessions! The Integrated Schools Podcast returns with a great conversation with Emily Ladau, disability rights activist and author of Demystifying Di…