Tufts Historian’s Departure Amid Allegations of Fabricated Citations

Historian Kerri K. Greenidge is no longer employed by Tufts University after the institution learned that her prize-winning book, *The Grimkes: The Legacy of Slavery In An American Family*, “contained multiple errors of fact and failed to give appropriate credit to the work of another.” The university has not disclosed whether Greenidge resigned or was terminated.

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Greenidge’s 2022 book, highlighted by *Publishers Weekly* as one of the ten best books of the year, reexamines the Grimke family by focusing on the biracial nephews of the abolitionist sisters Sarah and Angelina Grimke. Earlier reviews praised the work for foregrounding the enslaved woman who bore the sisters’ children, a narrative previously overlooked. The manuscript cited letters purportedly from the University of Michigan’s archive that later could not be located.

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Scholars quickly raised doubts. Retired Elmira College historian Myra C. Glenn, who first voiced concerns in a March 2024 review, argued that Greenidge “lacks the evidence to substantiate many of her major claims” and that the book is “riddled with factual errors and repeatedly omits needed endnotes.” Historian Stephen Fox, whose own research covers the same family, noted that the footnotes “seemed well done, except when you look at the footnotes… I started to think maybe it wasn’t just sloppy,” adding that “it’s something deeper.”

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Tufts spokesperson Patrick Collins said an independent review by outside experts was “fair, fact-based, thorough, and objective,” and the university “strongly deny[s] any allegations of bias.” Greenidge has declined to detail the terms of her departure and has accused two peer-review panelists of hostility toward Black women academics, alleging that a white female scholar prompted the review.

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• “I am heartbroken that a field I have given my life to can treat me this way,” — Kerri K. Greenidge

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• “The attack on black women academics is real.” — Kerri K. Greenidge

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• “Are there citations that were misattributed? Probably.” — Kerri K. Greenidge

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• “All too often Greenidge lacks the evidence to substantiate many of her major claims. Her work is also riddled with factual errors and repeatedly omits needed endnotes.” — Myra C. Glenn

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• “The independent review by outside experts in the field was fair, fact-based, thorough, and objective. We stand by the review and strongly deny any allegations of bias.” — Patrick Collins

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• “It seems well done, except when you look at the footnotes. I started to think maybe it wasn’t just sloppy,” — Stephen Fox

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