An award-winning historian is alleging racism after her work came under increasing scrutiny from fellow scholars over disputed claims, factual errors, and citation problems that have led to professional consequences and renewed examination of her published research, as reported by The New York Post.
Kerri Greenidge, author of the 2022 book The Grimkes, has pushed back against criticism from historians who questioned the accuracy of her work.
The book chronicles the story of the prominent South Carolina Grimke family, slaveholders whose descendants later became involved in the abolitionist movement.
In 2019, the Mellon Foundation gave Tufts $1.5 million to hire faculty in “Race, Colonialism, and Diaspora.” Their first hire: acclaimed author Kerri Greenidge. Last week, NYT reported Greenidge lost her tenured position, apparently over plagiarism and blatant fabrications. pic.twitter.com/SuyUIhUnUt
— John Sailer (@JohnDSailer) July 13, 2026
The book received widespread praise upon its release and earned the American Historical Association's Joan Kelly Memorial Prize.
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Questions surrounding the book intensified after historians began examining its sourcing and factual assertions more closely.
Among the critics was Myra Glenn, an author and retired American history professor at Elmira College.
In a 2024 review of The Grimkes, Glenn described the book as “deeply flawed,” writing that Greenidge “all too often lacks the evidence to substantiate many of her major claims.”
Glenn also concluded that “her work is also riddled with factual errors and repeatedly omits needed endnotes.”
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After the New York Times presented Greenidge with Glenn's findings and other disputed issues identified through the analysis, Greenidge rejected accusations that she had fabricated or plagiarized material and instead argued that the criticism reflected broader treatment of Black women in academia.
“I am heartbroken that a field I have given my life to can treat me this way,” Greenidge told the newspaper.
“The attack on Black women academics is real.”
Although Greenidge denied engaging in plagiarism or fabrication, she acknowledged that citation mistakes may exist.
Though she claimed to have never plagiarized or fabricated anything, she conceded, “Are there citations that were misattributed? Probably.”
The controversy has produced several professional repercussions. The Grimkes have been removed from Greenidge's author page on her publisher's website.
In addition, her listing as a recipient of the Joan Kelly Memorial Prize no longer appears on the American Historical Association's homepage.
Greenidge also appears to have left her position as a tenured associate professor in the Department of Studies in Race, Colonialism, and Diaspora at Tufts University.
A university spokesman told the New York Times that Greenidge was no longer employed by the institution but declined to provide any additional explanation regarding her departure.
As additional questions emerged surrounding her scholarship, including the reported loss of her university position and recognition tied to her awards, Greenidge again argued that racial bias was responsible for the developments.
She accused two senior historians who served on Tufts University's peer review panel of being “hostile toward black women in academia.”
Greenidge also asserted that the university's review process began after complaints were filed by a white female scholar, though she declined to identify any of the individuals involved.
Greenidge further suggested that her race influenced the New York Times' decision to report on the allegations surrounding her work.
The scrutiny has now expanded beyond The Grimkes. Another of Greenidge's books, Black Radical, is also receiving renewed attention from historians.
Published in 2019, Black Radical is a biography of journalist and civil rights activist William Monroe Trotter.
The book received favorable reviews, including praise from the New York Times, and won the Mark Lynton History Prize, presented by Columbia Journalism School and the Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard University.
Historian Stephen Fox, who authored a biography of Trotter in 1970, said he began reviewing Greenidge's citations after Black Radical was published and found that many of the cited sources did not correspond with the underlying material.
After learning about the controversy surrounding The Grimkes, Fox said his concerns grew beyond what he initially viewed as simple mistakes.
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