Published on April 30, 2026 in
Traditionally, May Day has focused on worker’s economic demands. But educators are bringing a new perspective to the conversation and arguing that their rights, as workers, include being able to teach in classrooms that are free from political censorship. “Education is one of the central battlegrounds where the meaning of workers rights is really being redefined,” said Jesse Hagopian, Campaign Director at the Zinn Education Project, a platform that promotes and supports the teaching of people’s history in classrooms nationwide. From
Colorlines. Read the full article
here.
Published on January 30, 2026 in
This year, the opportunity to educate students about the achievements and struggles of Black Americans arrives at a moment when students are watching civil rights — their civil rights — being stripped away in real time. Which means this is precisely the moment teachers must teach the truth about Black history and ensure students understand why the African American experience is central to what is happening across the United States right now.
Doing so requires tools, not just good intentions. That’s where the Zinn Education Project, a nonprofit organization dedicated to social justice education, comes in. ZEP offers free resources to help educators make these connections — between past resistance and present-day protest. Their site features
445 free lessons on the African American experience — from Reconstruction to the Civil Rights Movement and beyond. But ZEP offers more than curriculum: free books, virtual workshops, study groups, and a community of educators committed to teaching the truth. From
Word in Black. Read the full article
here.
Published on October 2, 2025 in
“While the right publicly claims that teachers are turning kids into ‘victims,’ they don’t actually believe that. What they really fear is that young people are learning how injustice is structured, understanding the long history of collective action against it, and identifying themselves as participants in today’s struggles for a more equitable and just society. What these stories of students engaging with social justice lesson plans on U.S. history reveal is that when teachers invite students to confront contradictions — slavery alongside professed liberty, declarations of democracy alongside disenfranchisement, and amendments vital to freedom won through relentless struggle — they don’t withdraw. They lean in. They learn that injustice isn’t inevitable, that it has a history, and therefore that it can be undone. That’s exactly why the right tries to silence them. Teaching truth doesn’t make victims. It supports them to become changemakers.” From
Word in Black. Read the full article
here.
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Published on September 15, 2025 in
“On Constitution Day, I won’t just hand out pocket Constitutions,” said Dr. Shelina Warren. “I’ll be in the Dunbar High cafeteria behind a voter registration table with the League of Women Voters. A few steps away, we’ll run a Know Your Rights station. Clipboards, wallet cards, questions. We’ll celebrate a document worth learning — and tell the truth about who it excluded and how we keep widening the “we.” I teach constitutional law in Washington, D.C., a city that embodies the Constitution’s contradictions. My students can recite the preamble by heart and still ask a question no textbook fully answers: How can Congress overrule our local laws when D.C. has no voting members in Congress? That’s not a hypothetical. It’s their bus route, their block, their family. When the federal government takes over D.C. decision-making, it shows up on their streets and in our conversations.” From
Word in Black. Read the full article
here.
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Published on July 23, 2025 in
Adriana Darielle Mejía Briscoe shared her family history with the Zinn Education Project, with appreciation for its numerous resources about the 1930s deportations of Mexican Americans and others throughout U.S. history.
From
LAist. Read the full article
here.
Published on June 18, 2025 in
Keesha Ceran, the deputy director of
Teaching for Change, says they’re “not just calling for a day of action when it comes to the Teach Truth campaign. It really is this push to teach truth all year long.”
From
Word in Black. Read the full article
here.
Published on June 16, 2025 in
On Saturday, Sassy Lassies Defending Truth & Democracy hosted a banned book interactive pop-up display created by the Zinn Education Project. “We believe, like the Zinn Education Project, that knowledge can help create a more just society,” Krammer said. “Acquiring that knowledge means full access to books.”
From
The Regional News. Read the full article
here.
Published on June 13, 2025 in
Locally, the initiative is sponsored by members of the First Presbyterian Church of Potsdam, who are helping to bring the Zinn Education Project’s message to the North Country. Although the national Day of Action was held June 7, Potsdam’s event will coincide with Juneteenth celebrations to connect historical reflection with current struggles for educational freedom.
From
North Country Now. Read the full article
here.
