The D.C. Area Educators for Social Justice hosted a Teach Truth day of action event at the Mall — marching (with a brass band) from the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC) to the National Museum of the American Indian (NMAI).

Highlights from 2025 Teach Truth events around the United States.

“Outside agitators” is a trope used throughout history in response to slave resistance, Reconstruction, the labor movement, the anti-apartheid movement, the Civil Rights Movement, and more to dismiss and repress the legitimate agency, intellect, and concerns of local people.

Teach Truth day of action briefing with representatives from the co-sponsors, partners, and event hosts.

Children’s future depends on what they learn today. That is why we need to defend the freedom to learn, more now than ever. Join us for the 5th Annual Teach Truth Day of Action on Saturday, June 7. Let students and teachers know we are by their side.

Historian Mia Bay discussed her book, Traveling Black: A Story of Race and Resistance, which explores racial restrictions on transportation and resistance to the injustice. This class was part of the Zinn Education Project’s Teach the Black Freedom Struggle online people’s history series.

Fifth annual nationwide rallies and teach-ins, led by educators, students, and local communities aim to pushback unprecedented and increasing legislative efforts to censor history and restrict learning in K–12 classrooms.

Educators and allies are pledging to teach truth in actions at historic sites across the country on June 7, 2025 and all year long. Here are 10 ways to participate.

Author and educator Clint Smith will discuss the new young readers edition of How the Word Is Passed: Remembering Slavery and How it Shaped America. This session is part of the Zinn Education Project’s Teach the Black Freedom Struggle online people’s history series.

The Zinn Education Project, in conjunction with more than 80 prominent racial and social justice organizations, will hold a national briefing on June 3, to discuss the growing chorus of diverse voices speaking out against the state and federal attack on students’ freedom to learn and educators’ freedom to teach.

On this Memorial Day weekend, we feature two articles: one about the early origins of the holiday, led by African Americans in Charleston, South Carolina after the Civil War, and the second by Howard Zinn urging us to "destroy the weapons of death that . . . threaten our children and grandchildren."

Thank you to the staff of the Zinn Education Project for trusting and supporting educators and students, and for providing resources to teach truth.

Educators have a vital role to play in preserving the truth of what happened in 2020. Let’s help students understand both the power of protest — and the necessity of ongoing struggle — to build a more just future.

Scholar Jason Stanley, in conversation with Rethinking Schools editor Jesse Hagopian, discussed his book, Erasing History: How Fascists Rewrite the Past to Control the Future, which exposes the ways authoritarian regimes manipulate historical narratives to maintain power.

Historians Jarvis Givens and Imani Perry discussed the Black Teacher Archive, a digital portal centralizing materials created by professional organizations of African American educators, historically referred to as Colored Teachers Associations (CTAs). This class was part of the Zinn Education Project’s Teach the Black Freedom Struggle online people’s history series.

For the 5th annual Teach Truth Day of Action, Seven Stories Press, Haymarket Books, and One Signal Publishers have donated books that address the censorship of people's history. 

We invite educators, students, parents, and community members to host a mini-lesson, rally at a historic site, history walking tour, information table, or other event to defend the right to #TeachTruth.

Hundreds of educators register for free each month at the Zinn Education Project to access lessons and other resources. Here’s why.

One way to engage the community in defending the right to learn is with a local history walking tour. Along the way, participants learn about history they wish they had learned in school.

On the 50th anniversary of the end of the Vietnam War, help students think critically about the origins and consequences of the U.S. war in Vietnam.

Historian Mary Phillips discussed her book, Black Panther Woman: The Political and Spiritual Life of Ericka Huggins. This class was part of the Zinn Education Project’s Teach the Black Freedom Struggle online people’s history series.

As state legislatures are passing laws to ban truthful teaching, more and more teachers continue to register at the Zinn Education Project. These numbers reflect a powerful countercurrent — one where teachers, students, and families seek out resources that center justice, people’s history, and critical thinking.

Whether it is Earth Day or any other day of the year, we offer lessons and resources to help students grasp the enormity of the environmental crisis, but also find paths to make a difference, to challenge the profit-first, fossil fuel-forever priorities of the people temporarily running this country.

We invite you to use the power of your social media platform to protect teachers and ensure that our children learn the truth about history so that they can shape a more just future.