Adult Archives

The Black History of the White House

Book — Non-fiction. By Clarence Lusane. 2010. 544 pages.
The untold story of African Americans in the White House from the 18th century to the present, including the presidents who held people in bondage.

Teaching Activity by Clarence Lusane

Soon We Will Not Cry: The Liberation of Ruby Doris Smith Robinson

Book — Non-fiction. By Cynthia Griggs Fleming. 1998. 228 pages.
Biography of Civil Rights Movement activist Ruby Doris Smith Robinson.

Teaching Global History: A Social Studies Approach

Book — Non-fiction. By Alan J. Singer. 2011. 206 pages.
A guide that proposes another way to teach history from a global perspective.

The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America’s Great Migration

Book — Non-fiction. By Isabel Wilkerson. 2010. 640 pages.
The story of the great migration told through in-depth descriptions of three families.

Teach Freedom: Education for Liberation in the African-American Tradition

Book — Non-fiction. Edited by Charles M. Payne and Carol Sills Strickland. Foreword by Charles E. Cobb Jr. 2008. 304 pages.
Documents the history of the use of education as a tool of collective liberation by African Americans.

The Indispensable Zinn: The Essential Writings of the “People’s Historian”

Book — Non-fiction. Edited by Timothy Patrick McCarthy. 2012. 496 pages.
A concise and accessible volume of the seminal writings of Howard Zinn including articles and excerpts from A People's History of the United States and You Can't Be Neutral on a Moving Train.

The Real Ebonics Debate: Power, Language, and the Education of African-American Children

Book — Non-fiction. Edited by Theresa Perry and Lisa Delpit. 1998. Rethinking Schools in collaboration with Beacon Press. 227 pages.
A special edition of Rethinking Schools, educators, linguists, writers, and students examine the lessons of the 1996 Oakland Ebonics controversy.

Eaarth: Making a Life on a Tough New Planet

Book — Non-fiction. By Bill McKibben. 2011. 288 pages.
A guide to living on and healing a fundamentally altered planet.

Teaching Activity by Bill McKibben

Scholastic Inc. — Pushing Coal: A 4th-grade Curriculum Lies through Omission

Article. By Bill Bigelow. Rethinking Schools, Summer 2011.
Rethinking Schools exposes links between Scholastic and the coal industry.

Teaching Activity by Bill Bigelow

We as Freemen: Plessy v. Ferguson

Book — Non-fiction. By Keith Medley. 2012. 256 pages.
This book documents the untold history of the organizing leading up the Plessy v. Ferguson case.

Plessy v. Ferguson: The Organizing History of the Case

Article. By Keith W. Medley.
The role of the Comité des Citoyens and The Crusader newspaper in the Plessy v. Ferguson case.

Understanding Central America: Global Forces, Rebellion, and Change; 5th Edition

Book — Non-fiction. By John Booth, Christine Wade, and Thomas Walker. 2014. 374 pages.
A primer on the history of Costa Rica, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras.

The Sky’s the Limit: People v. Newton, The REAL Trial of the 20th Century?

Book — Non-fiction. By Lise Pearlman. 2012. 800 pages.
Brings to life 20th century court cases and protests that played a major role in U.S. history.

Harvest of Empire: A History of Latinos in America

Film. Directed by Eduardo López & Peter Getzels. 2012. 90 minutes.
Documentary that examines the direct connection between the long history of U.S. intervention in Latin America and the immigration crisis we face today.

Tarantino Bloodies the Truth: A History Teacher’s Lament

Article. By Larry Miller. January 2013.
A review of the film Django Unchained.

The Rebellious Life of Mrs. Rosa Parks

Book — Non-fiction. By Jeanne Theoharis. 2013. 320 pages.
A revealing window into Rosa Parks’ politics and years of activism.

Ruth First and Joe Slovo in the War Against Apartheid

Book — Non-fiction. By Alan Weider. Foreword by Nadine Gordimer. 2013. 464 pages.
Comprehensive biography of South African freedom fighters Ruth First and Joe Slovo.

The Limits of Master Narratives in History Textbooks: An Analysis of Representations of Martin Luther King Jr.

Article. By Derrick Alridge. 2006. 25 pages.
Critique of textbook representation of Martin Luther King Jr. as messiah, embodiment of the Civil Rights Movement, and a moderate.

Whitewashing Our First President

Article. By Clarence Lusane. 2014.
Critical review of an upper elementary non-fiction book about George Washington and the people he kept in bondage.

Teaching Activity by Clarence Lusane

This Nonviolent Stuff’ll Get You Killed: How Guns Made the Civil Rights Movement Possible

Book — Non-fiction. By Charles E. Cobb Jr. 2015. 328 pages.
Cobb Jr. describes the vital role that armed self-defense played in the survival and liberation of black communities in America during the Southern Freedom Movement of the 1960s.

Teaching Activity by Charles Cobb

Hartman Turnbow

Profile. Hartman Turnbow (March 20, 1905–August 15, 1988), was Mileston, Miss., farmer and fiery orator known for inspiring people during the Civil Rights Movement.

Voices of Freedom: An Oral History of the Civil Rights Movement from the 1950s through the 1980s

Book — Non-fiction. Henry Hampton and Steve Fayer. 1991. 692 pages.
Oral histories of the Civil Rights Movement spanning three decades.

A Year Without Sundays (Un Año Sin Domingos)

Book — Non-fiction. By Catherine Murphy and Carlos Torres Cairo. 2014. 132 pages (& DVD).
Photos and stories about the highly successful Cuban literacy campaign of 1961.

Challenging Ourselves: Martin Luther King, the Movement, and Its Lessons for Today

Article. By Charles E. Cobb. 2017.
Charles E. Cobb Jr. discusses the Civil Rights Movement and its lessons, and how they apply to current movements.

Teaching Activity by Charles Cobb

Now Can We Talk? 40 Years Later

Film. By Lee Anne Bell and Markie Hancock. 2013. 45 minutes.
This DVD and discussion guide offer a powerful way to engage students, teachers, and community groups in honest dialogue about the ongoing problems of racism and what we can do to address them.