20th Century Archives

Freedom Summer

Book — Non-fiction. By Bruce Watson. 2010. 384 pages.
A history of Freedom Summer, the pivotal period of the Civil Rights Movement in 1964 Mississippi.

Howard Zinn: A Radical American Vision

Book — Non-fiction. By Davis D. Joyce. Foreword by Noam Chomsky. 2003. 268 pages.
Biography of Howard Zinn.

Ballads of Sacco and Vanzetti

Songs by Woody Guthrie, produced by Moses Asch. 1996.
Songs about the murder trial of Sacco and Vanzetti.

Mendez v. Westminster: School Desegregation and Mexican-American Rights

Book — Non-fiction. By Philippa Strum. 2010. 186 pages.
Description of a pre-Brown v. Board desegregation court case involving Mexican-American families.

A Strong Right Arm: The Story of Mamie “Peanut” Johnson

Book — Non-fiction. By Michelle Y. Green. Illustrated by Kadir Nelson. 2004. 128 pages.
A biography on one of only three women to play baseball in the Negro Leagues.

Mississippi Trial, 1955

Book — Fiction. By Chris Crowe. 2003. 240 pages.
Historical fiction about the murder of Emmett Till for high school students.

Rescue: The Story of How Gentiles Saved Jews in the Holocaust

Book — Nonfiction. By Milton Meltzer. 1991. 176 pages.
Stories of people who resisted the Nazis and worked to aid Jewish individuals.

Never to Forget: The Jews of the Holocaust

Book — Non-fiction. By Milton Meltzer. 1991. 240 pages.
A document-based historical account of Jewish experiences in Nazi Germany during World War II, for ages 12 and up.

You Can't Be Neutral on a Moving Train Book Cover | Zinn Education Project

You Can’t Be Neutral on a Moving Train: A Personal History

Book — Non-fiction. By Howard Zinn. 2002, updated in 2018 with a foreword by Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor. 232 pages.
An engaging memoir by Howard Zinn which offers his life history in the context of the politics and events of his lifetime.

The Bomb

Book — Non-fiction. By Howard Zinn. 2010. 100 pages.
Zinn's personal reflections and political analysis on the WWII bombing of Hiroshima, Nagasaki, Royan, and more.

The Assassination of Fred Hampton: How the FBI and Chicago Police Murdered a Black Panther

Book — Non-fiction. By Jeffrey Haas. 2019. 400 pages.
The life and murder of Fred Hampton as told by Jeffrey Haas, co-founder of the People’s Law Office and attorney for the plaintiffs in the federal suit Hampton v. Hanrahan.

Not Just a Game: Power, Politics & American Sports

Film. By Dave Zirin and Jeremy Earp. 2010. 62 minutes.
A documentary based on the bestselling book A People's History of Sports in the United States, Zirin demonstrates that American sports have long been at the center of some of the major political debates and struggles of our time. For 6th grade to adult.

Teaching Activity by Dave Zirin

Conscience and the Constitution

Film. By Frank Abe. 2000. 57 minutes.
In World War II, 63 Japanese Americans refused to be drafted from a U.S. concentration camp.

The Vietnam Wars: 1945-1990

Book — Non-fiction. By Marilyn B. Young. 1991. 448 pages.
A detailed history of the Vietnam War.

Zora and Me

Book — Fiction. By Victoria Bond and T. R. Simon. 2010. 186 pages.
A coming-of-age story inspired by the early life of Zora Neale Hurston for ages 10 and up.

At the Dark End of the Street: Black Women, Rape, and Resistance — A New History of the Civil Rights Movement from Rosa Parks to the Rise of Black Power

Book — Non-fiction. By Danielle L. McGuire. 2010. 352 pages.
History of the violence against African-American women during the 20th century and the role played by Rosa Parks in the organized legal response to that abuse.