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We've been excited to hear from teachers about the impact of the using the role play "Reconstructing the South: A Role Play" by Bill Bigelow. Many of the comments provide insights into the "aha's" students have as a result of studying the Reconstruction era and its meaning today.

Howard Johnson was angry when he read about racist taunts at a basketball game at Red Mountain High School in Mesa, Arizona, in early February. But he was not sure what he could do to help students learn to treat each other with respect until he read about the Howard Zinn book drive in Arkansas.

By Manisha Sinha If nothing else, President Trump and the Republicans are making Civil War revisionism great again. A couple of weeks ago, North Carolina GOP state Rep. Larry Pittman argued that Abraham Lincoln was “the same sort (of) tyrant” as Adolf Hitler, and was “personally responsible” for the deaths of hundreds of thousands of Americans in an “unnecessary and unconstitutional” war.

For Asian Pacific American Heritage Month (May)—and all year long—we feature 20 Asian Americans and events of note in people’s history. We hope this list serves as an inspiration and starting point for students to do further research.

By Bob Peterson While hundreds of thousands of concerned global citizens march for science and climate justice, a massive corporate-financed disinformation campaign on climate change is flooding our nation’s schools.

During the Howard Zinn book drive for Arkansas, we posted this note from Harrisburg, Arkansas high school teacher Morgan Garland: "I only have one copy of Howard Zinn's book and I make copies of each chapter for all of my students." Garland could not afford a class set. A Zinn Education Project Facebook fan, Yarrow from southern Oregon, saw the post and decided to take action.

By Bill Bigelow Last week nearly 700 Arkansas teachers and school librarians received copies of books by Howard Zinn—thanks to a right wing state representative. Well, not exactly. But here’s the story.

When we made a call for donations to send books to Arkansas teachers, we were touched by the comments donors gave with their contribution. We share these inspiring quotes with you.

We are honored that our lesson, “Hunger on Trial: An Activity on the Irish Potato Famine and Its Meaning for Today” by Bill Bigelow, was used at the 2016 International Great Hunger Commemoration, an annual event sponsored by the Irish government, held in Philadelphia.

We want to hear about your feedback about use of our lessons on Reconstruction. In appreciation for your time, we will send you a free copy of A Short History of Reconstruction.

On last Sunday’s CBS show “Face the Nation,” senior Trump policy adviser Stephen Miller defended Trump’s travel ban and said, “The powers of the president to protect our country are very substantial and will not be questioned.” We need to remind students that this country has been at its best when people have organized to question and challenge presidents.

With each passing day, it's becoming more apparent that Trump's agenda can only be enacted if people are ignorant of the issues underlying his supposed solutions. Having trouble finding and keeping work? Build that wall. Fearful of terrorist attacks? Ban Muslims. Want energy security and infrastructure development? Build that pipeline. The best antidote to Trump's xenophobia, racism, misogyny, and fossil-fuel soaked future is critical thinking.

The Zinn Education Project has just posted "Standing with Standing Rock: A Role Play on the Dakota Access Pipeline" by Wolfe-Rocca, her colleague Andrew Duden, and Zinn Education Project co-director Bill Bigelow. The teaching activities help students grasp the issues at stake in the historic struggle of the Standing Rock Sioux for recognition of their treaty rights and for clean water for all.

In popular culture, the most memorable depiction of Reconstruction was D.W. Griffith's film, Birth of a Nation. Missing from this racist portrait of Reconstruction — and from too many textbooks — was the extraordinary experiment in grassroots multiracial democracy this period represented — land reform, public schools, expanded voting rights, greater equality.

The Zinn Education Project's ability to get people's history lessons into the hands of teachers is made possible by donations from individuals like you. We express our thanks to everyone who donated last year so that we can reach more classrooms in 2017.

Dear friends, More than 65,000 teachers are helping students learn the truth, and teach outside the textbook. Their role has become all the more urgent. These teachers are often the only chance students have to learn a different story—one that looks honestly at this country’s long history of exploitation, but one that also features the social movements that have made it more just and equal.

Show your support with a union-made Zinn Education Project t-shirt. The front features our name and logo. The back features a quote by Howard Zinn: "History should emphasize new possibilities by disclosing those hidden episodes of the past when people showed their ability to resist, to join together, and to occasionally win."