“Kalamazoo College has been a center of social justice teaching and leadership training for decades. Anne Dueweke’s excellent new book reminds us of that practice, but she also reveals that few long-standing institutions, including K College, are untouched by the legacies of racism and colonialism. An important case study of the political and ethical issues facing college campuses in the 21st century.”

Barbara Ransby, John D. MacArthur Chair and Professor at University of Illinois at Chicago, and author of the award-winning biography, "Ella Baker and the Black Freedom Movement"

“Reckoning is the fascinating story of the nearly two centuries history of Kalamazoo College, viewed through the powerful lens of White privilege. It is the story of trying to reconcile lofty ideals with the stark realities of racism. And it is an unfinished story because we don’t know whether Kalamazoo College will ultimately succeed in achieving its social justice goals. Reckoning shows us the importance of taking time to reflect on what has gone before so that we can contemplate what is yet to come. It should be required reading for all who profess a renewed commitment to dismantling structural racism.”

David J. Asai, Senior Director, Science Education, Howard Hughes Medical Institute

“Dueweke traces the history of Kalamazoo College’s origins in settler colonialism and its evolution to the cusp of America’s current racial reckoning. Without fanfare or oversentimentality, this historical case study uncovers contradictions between progress and backlash, between courageous institutional leadership and resistance to change, between grassroots activism and institutional repression. Recounting Indigenous, Black, Asian students’ experiences brings era-specific socio-political contexts to life as national politics played out within Kalamazoo. Revealing this troubled past—restores and clarifies what higher education, and particularly, the liberal arts has been—leading us to wonder what it might still become...”

Toni King, Associate Professor of Black Studies and Women’s & Gender Studies, Charles and Nancy Brickman Distinguished Leadership Chair, Denison University

“Carefully researched and passionately written, Dueweke’s history illuminates both the longstanding progressive commitments of Kalamazoo College and its enduring entanglements with colonialism, enslavement, and institutional racism. This book is a model for the kind of reckoning required of all American educational institutions if we are to truly live up to our social justice commitments.”

Laura Barraclough, Professor of American Studies, Yale University

“Anne Dueweke reminds us that the time for reckoning is always at hand. As she traces the history of one liberal arts college, she outlines the limits of American humility and the power of visionary leadership. From the shadow of the Indian Removal Act, cast to clear the physical and social landscape, to recent efforts to listen attentively to diverse students and respond to their needs, this is a re-counting of facts that tells the full story. It does not romanticize racism, nor does it make excuses for ethnic exclusion. Reckoning: Kalamazoo College Uncovers Its Racial and Colonial Past is an act of reconciliation and redirection. By moving beyond theory to assess practices, this is a book centered on the education and evolution of humanity. It is the record of one institution finding its soul.”

Margaret Ann Noodin, Professor of English and American Indian Studies and Associate Dean of Humanities, University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee