Memorial Day, originally published in the New York Times. Used here with permission of the artist Owen Freeman.

People’s History of Memorial Day

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."
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Teach Truth 2026

Examples of Teach Truth message at events in 2026, including No Kings, May Day, immigrant rights, Pride, Juneteenth, and other rallies and celebrations. The need to protect the freedom to learn is part of every fight for justice.
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Teach About Imperialism

As we equip students to understand today's immoral and illegal U.S. interventions, let’s frame these actions in terms of the much longer history of U.S. efforts to control other people’s lives and resources. Here, we highlight a few teaching resources.
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One Hundred Years of High School Student Organizing

Rethinking Schools editor Jesse Hagopian will be in conversation with historians Aaron G. Fountain Jr. and Jon N. Hale about student organizing and state repression. This class is part of the Zinn Education Project’s Teach the Black Freedom Struggle online people’s history series.
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Freedom Ship: The Uncharted History of Escaping Slavery by Sea

Historian Marcus Rediker discussed his books Freedom Ship: The Uncharted History of Escaping Slavery by Sea and The Many-Headed Hydra: Sailors, Slaves, Commoners, and the Hidden History of the Revolutionary Atlantic, and talked about the many enslaved people who fled successfully from the horrors of bondage in the antebellum South not by land but by sea. This class was part of the Zinn Education Project’s Teach the Black Freedom Struggle online people’s history series.
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Teach Truth Campaign Display

To raise awareness about the threats to teaching people's history, we offer an interactive pop-up display. Learn more and order a box to display at Pride festivals, bookstores, farmers's markets, schools, Juneteenth celebrations, and more.
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Educators Learn Hidden History — and Talk About Why It Matters

It’s not every day that educators can learn directly from leading historians, writers, and activists, and then immediately process that learning in small groups with peers equally committed to truth and justice. That’s exactly what makes the Zinn Education Project’s Teach the Black Freedom Struggle online class series so rare and vital.
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Teach Truth Public Events

We need to reach as many people as possible with information about the chilling effect of these laws and how they threaten any chance of an informed and engaged democracy. We offere here lots of ways to make our voices heard.
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Until the Last Gun Is Silent

Historian Matthew Delmont joined Rethinking Schools executive director Cierra Kaler-Jones to discuss his latest book Until the Last Gun Is Silent: A Story of Patriotism, the Vietnam War, and the Fight to Save America’s Soul. This class was part of the Zinn Education Project’s Teach the Black Freedom Struggle online people’s history series.
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The Life and Politics of Coretta Scott King

Rethinking Schools editor Jesse Hagopian will be in conversation with historians Jeanne Theoharis and Traci Parker about the life and politics of Coretta Scott King and Theoharis’ book about this often overlooked civil rights icon. This class is part of the Zinn Education Project’s Teach the Black Freedom Struggle online people’s history series.
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