This is such a wonderful series — content-wise and soul-feeding.
This is one of the best professional developments I have ever been to, hands-down. I am so grateful. This series is giving me hope in this difficult time.
Phenomenal series so far. Even more important during our current situation, as people are engaged and able to see each other. I’ve been here every Friday and look forward to these talks.
These comments are from three of the hundreds of teachers and students who attended our People’s Historians Online mini-classes while school buildings were closed in the Spring of 2020. Author Jeanne Theoharis suggested the series and offered to host the initial sessions in conversation with high school teacher and Rethinking Schools editor Jesse Hagopian.
Fridays became a time to look forward to learning through stories about people’s history, to meeting other educators, and to finding a road map forward in the midst of this pandemic. As one participant said, “Thank you for getting us together and giving me hope that we are not alone, and that we can think and act ourselves out of this pandemic.”
The Zinn Education Project staff, in collaboration with Jeanne Theoharis, held sessions from March 27 to July 10, 2020. We’ll schedule a new series if and when we secure funding for the coordination and scholars.
Sessions in Spring 2020 Series
Each link below includes highlights from the session, a list of the resources recommended by the presenters and participants, participant reflections, and a full video recording.
March 27 and April 3: The Rebellious Life of Mrs. Rosa Parks Based on Jeanne Theoharis’s book of the same name, this session introduced participants to Rosa Parks’ activism prior to the Montgomery Bus Boycott, her trip to the Highlander Folk School, and the decades she dedicated to challenging racism in the North. Bill Bigelow wrote a lesson to bring this more complete story of Rosa Parks to classrooms.
April 10: Teenagers in the Civil Rights Movement This session, led by Jeanne Theoharis and Jesse Hagopian, highlighted the leading role teenagers played in the Civil Rights Movement — from desegregating Montgomery’s buses to the student sit-ins to the high school walkouts of the 1960s. Two contemporary youth organizers spoke as well.
April 17: The Civil Rights Movement in the North Jeanne Theoharis’ discussion with Jesse Hagopian challenged the traditional narrative of the Civil Rights Movement with descriptions of oppression and resistance in the North. (Did you know the biggest civil rights action of the 1960s was in New York City?) She talked about Los Angeles, Milwaukee, and Boston.
April 24: Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee On this 60th anniversary of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), we hosted SNCC veterans Courtland Cox and Judy Richardson, in conversation with high school teacher Jessica Rucker. They described the role of popular education materials and a network of organizers across generations.
May 1: Rethinking Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. On International Workers’ Day, Jeanne Theoharis and Jesse Hagopian discussed the radical history of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Theoharis shared stories about the influence of Coretta Scott King and on Dr. King’s role in the North, the Memphis sanitation workers’ strike, and the Poor People’s Campaign.
May 8: Women in the Black Panther Party. Robyn Spencer and Mary Phillips introduced the role of women in the Black Panther Party through discussion, a video clip, and art. They were introduced by Jesse Hagopian who co-wrote a lesson on the Black Panther Party at the Zinn Education Project website. In the words of a participant, they “deconstructed the Martin-Malcolm dichotomy, centering women and gender in the history of the Panthers.”
May 15: Black Athletes and the Black Freedom Struggle. Sports writer Dave Zirin joined Jesse Hagopian to discuss the activism of noted athletes, including Jackie Robinson, Curt Flood, Wilma Rudolph, Wyomia Tyus, Muhammad Ali, John Carlos, Tommie Smith and organized campaigns such as the Olympic Project for Human Rights.
May 22: Black Left: 1930s to the Early 1950s Robin D. G. Kelley described and challenged stereotypes about communism in U.S. history, in a conversation with Cierra Kaler-Jones, describing the histories of the Scottsboro Nine, the Southern Tenant Farmers Union, and other individuals.
May 29: Black Feminist Organizing: 1950s to the 21st Century Barbara Ransby joined in conversation with Jesse Hagopian about the history of Black feminist organizing. That day, the nationwide rebellion in protest of police brutality was in everyone’s hearts and minds, and Ransby made connections between past and present struggles.
June 5: Examining the Historical Roots of the 2020 Rebellion Keisha N. Blain and Jesse Hagopian addressed the role of police throughout U.S. history, the connection between lynching and police brutality, and the importance of highlighting stories of resistance, particularly by women of color in the fight for human rights.
June 12: Reconstruction and Issues of Citizenship, Suffrage, and Movement Building in the 19th Century Martha Jones, in conversation with Tiffany Mitchell Patterson, addressed the themes of our campaigns to Teach Reconstruction and to teach about voting rights. She highlighted the vital and too often ignored role of Black women in the fight for voting rights.
June 19: Reconstruction and Juneteenth Greg Carr and high school teacher Jessica Rucker talked about how Juneteenth is one of many days where African Americans celebrate being “freed” but still not “free” and how the times we are in today could be considered a third Reconstruction or a second Founding.
June 26: A History of Rebellions Jeanne Theoharis and Jesse Hagopian discussed various rebellions in U.S. history — including what they have in common and how they differ from current events. Theoharis encouraged educators to consider “the many tendrils” that led to this current movement and others before it.
July 10: Abolitionists and Reconstruction Manisha Sinha joined high school teacher Adam Sanchez to talk about the abolition movement and Reconstruction. Sinha explained that the abolition movement should not be taught as a collection of individuals, but instead as a radical social movement, with connections to the Movement for Black Lives today.
Each session or mini-class was for 75 minutes and began at 2pm Eastern. There were breakout rooms for 12 minutes about half-way through the session to allow participants (in small groups of five or six) to meet each other, discuss the content, and share teaching ideas. We designed the sessions for teachers and other school staff, however, parents, students, and others were welcome to participate. The session format was as follows:
- Presentation by historian in conversation with a high school teacher or another historian
- Small group conversations by participants (using Zoom breakout rooms) to discuss insights from the talk and approaches to teaching.
- Presenters respond to questions with the full group and share teaching resources.
- Evaluation by participants.
Questions? Write to [email protected]
These sessions are made possible thanks to support from the Communities for Just Schools Fund and individual donors.
Please add your support and make a donation so that we can continue to offer people’s history lessons, resources, workshops — and now online mini-classes — for free to K-12 teachers and students. We receive no corporate support and depend on individuals like you.
I have loved participating in these sessions. This focus on the Black Freedom Struggle was much needed and long over-due.
Yes! You can access the recordings by clicking on the links below “Sessions to Date” toward the top of this page. The individual recordings are on each page about that particular class.
Are these sessions recorded? If so, how can I get access. I would love to attend the Juneteenth session but have another Required Professional development that day.
I just registered for future sessions, and I’d love to watch the previous sessions. Is there somewhere I can access a recording of them?