Story perspectives

Harvard Scholar Explores 1819 Education Laws, NPR's Top Reads

12/23/2025

25 3

Center

Givens Analyzes Education

Harvard professor Jarvis R. Givens analyzes 1819 in U.S. education, focusing on the Civilization Fund Act and anti-literacy laws.
NPR recommends ten books as the nation nears its 250th anniversary.
Mother Emanuel by Kevin Sack, Medicine River by Mary Annette Pember, and There Is No Place for Us by Brian Goldstone are among the NPR list.

History

Historians Address Complexity

David McCullough's posthumous collection History Matters presents essays on American history and argues there was never a "simpler time".
Journalist Kevin Sack's Mother Emanuel chronicles the resilience of Charleston's Mother Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church, founded by enslaved and free African Americans.
Together, these works contribute to the ongoing dialogue about America's complex history and the enduring struggle for equality, highlighted by the 2015 shooting.

1 of 2

Givens Analyzes Education

Harvard professor Jarvis R. Givens analyzes 1819 in U.S. education, focusing on the Civilization Fund Act and anti-literacy laws.
NPR recommends ten books as the nation nears its 250th anniversary.
Mother Emanuel by Kevin Sack, Medicine River by Mary Annette Pember, and There Is No Place for Us by Brian Goldstone are among the NPR list.

1 / 2