Boycott
Film. By Clark Johnson. 2001. 120 minutes.
Dramatic account of the Montgomery Bus Boycott.
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Dramatic account of the Montgomery Bus Boycott.
Reading Level: High School
High School
How Red Lines Built White Wealth: A Lesson on Housing Segregation in the 20th Century
Teaching Activity. By Ursula Wolfe-Rocca. Rethinking Schools.
The mixer role play is based on Richard Rothstein’s The Color of Law, which shows in exacting detail how government policies segregated every major city in the United States with dire consequences for African Americans.
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The mixer role play is based on Richard Rothstein’s The Color of Law, which shows in exacting detail how government policies segregated every major city in the United States with dire consequences for African Americans.
Freedom Libraries: The Untold Story of Libraries for African Americans in the South
Book — Non-fiction. By Mike Selby. 2019. 208 pages.
This book reveals the histories of grassroots "freedom libraries" that were at the heart of the Civil Rights Movement in the Deep South and tells the stories of courageous people who operated and used them.
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This book reveals the histories of grassroots "freedom libraries" that were at the heart of the Civil Rights Movement in the Deep South and tells the stories of courageous people who operated and used them.
Glory
Film. Directed by Edward Zwick. 1989. 122 minutes.
The all-Black 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry Regiment is brought to the screen in this star-studded Civil War film.
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The all-Black 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry Regiment is brought to the screen in this star-studded Civil War film.
“Prisons Make Us Safer”: And 20 Other Myths about Mass Incarceration
Book — Non-fiction. By Victoria Law. 2021. 240 pages
An accessible guide for activists, educators, and all who are interested in understanding how the prison system oppresses communities and harms individuals.
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An accessible guide for activists, educators, and all who are interested in understanding how the prison system oppresses communities and harms individuals.
Teach Truth: The Struggle for Antiracist Education
Book — Non-fiction. By Jesse Hagopian. 2025. 302 pages.
A call to defend honest education for our students, showing how we can reclaim suppressed history by creating beloved classroom communities and healthy social movements.
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A call to defend honest education for our students, showing how we can reclaim suppressed history by creating beloved classroom communities and healthy social movements.
Police Against the Movement: The Sabotage of the Civil Rights Struggle and the Activists Who Fought Back
Book — Non-fiction. By Joshua Clark Davis. 2025. 424 pages.
An examination of the civil rights struggle through its work against police violence — and a prehistory of both the Black Lives Matter and Blue Lives Matter movements that emerged half a century later.
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An examination of the civil rights struggle through its work against police violence — and a prehistory of both the Black Lives Matter and Blue Lives Matter movements that emerged half a century later.
Criminalizing Librarians: Threats and Realities
Article. By Mariame Kaba, design by Cindy Lau, artwork by Erik Ruin, and research support by Noah Berlatsky. 2025. 12 pages.
Walks readers through the history of assaults on librarians and examples of library workers pushing back.
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Walks readers through the history of assaults on librarians and examples of library workers pushing back.
The Real Cost of Prisons Comix
Book — Non-fiction. By Ellen Miller-Mack, Craig Gilmore, Lois Ahrens, Susan Willmarth, and Kevin Pyle. 2008. 104 pages.
This comic book presents the human stories behind the statistics.
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This comic book presents the human stories behind the statistics.
Race to Incarcerate: A Graphic Retelling
Book — Non-fiction. By Marc Mauer and Sabrina Jones. 2013. 128 pages.
Based on the popular book Race to Incarcerate, this graphic adaptation is a key resource to introduce a study of U.S. prison system to middle school readers and above.
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Based on the popular book Race to Incarcerate, this graphic adaptation is a key resource to introduce a study of U.S. prison system to middle school readers and above.
Revolutionary Founders: Rebels, Radicals, and Reformers in the Making of the Nation
Book — Non-fiction. Edited by Alfred F. Young, Gary Nash, and Ray Raphael. 2012. 464 pages.
In twenty-two original essays, leading historians reveal the radical impulses at the founding of the American Republic.
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In twenty-two original essays, leading historians reveal the radical impulses at the founding of the American Republic.
Guantánamo Voices: True Accounts from the World’s Most Infamous Prison
Book — Non-fiction. Edited by Sarah Mirk. 2020. 208 pages.
A graphic novel anthology of illustrated narratives about the prison and the lives it changed forever.
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A graphic novel anthology of illustrated narratives about the prison and the lives it changed forever.
A Revolution of Values
Teaching Activity. By Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. 3 pages.
Text of speech by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on the Vietnam War, followed by three teaching ideas.
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Text of speech by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on the Vietnam War, followed by three teaching ideas.
Indigenous Peoples’ History of the United States, a Graphic Interpretation
Book — Non-fiction. By Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz. Adapted by Paul Peart-Smith. 2024. 120 pages.
A profound retelling of U.S. history, turning the “nation of immigrants” narrative on its head.
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A profound retelling of U.S. history, turning the “nation of immigrants” narrative on its head.
Francis Scott Key Opposed “Land of the Free”
Article. By Jefferson Morley. 2012.
"Star-Spangled Banner" songwriter Francis Scott Key opposed abolitionists and free speech in his role as district attorney of the city of Washington.
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"Star-Spangled Banner" songwriter Francis Scott Key opposed abolitionists and free speech in his role as district attorney of the city of Washington.
Teaching Climate Disobedience: Using the Film Necessity in the Classroom
Teaching Activity. By Ursula Wolfe-Rocca.
A lesson about multiple cohorts of climate activists: Indigenous leaders in the Climate Justice Movement, valve turners using civil disobedience to stop the flow of oil, and the legal team that uses the “necessity defense” in the courts.
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A lesson about multiple cohorts of climate activists: Indigenous leaders in the Climate Justice Movement, valve turners using civil disobedience to stop the flow of oil, and the legal team that uses the “necessity defense” in the courts.
Banned Together
Film. Directed by Kate Way. 2024. 93 minutes.
Follows three students and their adult allies as they fight to reinstate 97 books suddenly pulled from their school libraries.
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Follows three students and their adult allies as they fight to reinstate 97 books suddenly pulled from their school libraries.
All Our Trials: Prisons, Policing, and the Feminist Fight to End Violence (Revised Edition)
Book — Non-fiction. By Emily L. Thuma. 2024. 256 pages.
A vital history of organizing within and beyond the walls of women’s prisons in the 1970s, illuminating a crucial chapter in today’s abolition feminist struggles.
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A vital history of organizing within and beyond the walls of women’s prisons in the 1970s, illuminating a crucial chapter in today’s abolition feminist struggles.
Queen Mother: Black Nationalism, Reparations, and the Untold Story of Audley Moore
Book — Non-fiction. By Ashley D. Farmer. 2025. 496 pages.
A biography of Queen Mother Audley Moore — mother of modern Black Nationalism and trailblazer in the fight for reparations.
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A biography of Queen Mother Audley Moore — mother of modern Black Nationalism and trailblazer in the fight for reparations.
When the Impossible Suddenly Became Possible: A Reconstruction Mixer
Teaching Activity. By Adam Sanchez and Nqobile Mthethwa. 25 pages.
A mixer role play explores the connections between different social movements during Reconstruction.
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A mixer role play explores the connections between different social movements during Reconstruction.
Trouble in Censorville: The Far Right’s Assault on Public Education and the Teachers Who are Fighting Back
Book — Non-fiction. Edited by Nadine M. Kalin and Rebekah Modrak. 2024. 296 pages.
Gives readers a teacher’s-eye view of the radical right crusade to take down public education, coordinated by well-funded, well-connected far-right political interests.
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Gives readers a teacher’s-eye view of the radical right crusade to take down public education, coordinated by well-funded, well-connected far-right political interests.
People’s History of Abortion Care in the United States
Article. By Wesley Hogan. 2024.
A collection of primary sources to illustrate the history of abortion care in the United States.
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A collection of primary sources to illustrate the history of abortion care in the United States.
Empire of AI: Dreams and Nightmares in Sam Altman’s OpenAI
Book — Non-fiction. By Karen Hao. 2025. 496 pages.
By drawing on the viewpoints of Silicon Valley engineers, Kenyan data laborers, and Chilean water activists, Hao presents the fullest picture of AI and its impact we’ve seen to date, alongside a trenchant analysis of where things are headed.
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By drawing on the viewpoints of Silicon Valley engineers, Kenyan data laborers, and Chilean water activists, Hao presents the fullest picture of AI and its impact we’ve seen to date, alongside a trenchant analysis of where things are headed.
Golden Lands, Working Hands
Film. By Fred Glass for the California Federation of Teachers. 1999. 170 minutes.
Ten-part film series brings the hidden history of working people in California to light, from the Gold Rush through the present.
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Ten-part film series brings the hidden history of working people in California to light, from the Gold Rush through the present.
Voices From the Plain of Jars: Life Under an Air War
Book — Non-fiction. Edited by Fred Branfman. 2013 (original edition, 1972). 196 pages.
Essays, drawings, and poems by Laotian villagers who survived almost 10 years of widespread, persistent, and devastating bombing during the Vietnam War in a covert operation in Laos.
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Essays, drawings, and poems by Laotian villagers who survived almost 10 years of widespread, persistent, and devastating bombing during the Vietnam War in a covert operation in Laos.