Sept. 3, 1991: Fire at Food Processing Plant Kills 25 Workers
Chicken plant workers died when a preventable workplace “accident” trapped them in a burning building.
Continue reading
Period: 1975–2000
Post-Civil Rights Era: 1975 – 2000
Julian Bond’s Time to Teach: A History of the Southern Civil Rights Movement
Book — Non-fiction. By Julian Bond. Edited by Pam Horowitz and Jeanne Theoharis with an afterword by Vann Newkirk II. 2021. 356 pages.
For over two decades, civil rights activist Julian Bond taught a popular class on the history of the Civil Rights Movement. This book contains the wisdom and teachings from that class.
Continue reading
For over two decades, civil rights activist Julian Bond taught a popular class on the history of the Civil Rights Movement. This book contains the wisdom and teachings from that class.
Revolution in Our Time: The Black Panther Party’s Promise to the People
Book — Non-Fiction. By Kekla Magoon. 2021.
An account of militant revolutionaries and human rights advocates working to defend and protect their community.
Continue reading
An account of militant revolutionaries and human rights advocates working to defend and protect their community.
Aug. 18, 1977: Steve Biko Arrested
Anti-apartheid activist Steve Biko was arrested at a police roadblock in South Africa.
Continue reading
Nov. 12, 1991: Indonesian Massacre of East Timorese
Using arms from the United States, Indonesian troops fired on a peaceful procession in East Timor, killing more than 270 people.
Continue reading
The Rebellious Lives of Mrs. Rosa Parks
Teaching Activity. By Bill Bigelow.
In this mixer lesson, students learn about Rosa Parks' many decades of activism by taking on roles from various times in her life. In this way, students learn about her radicalism before, during, and long after the Montgomery Bus Boycott.
Continue reading
In this mixer lesson, students learn about Rosa Parks' many decades of activism by taking on roles from various times in her life. In this way, students learn about her radicalism before, during, and long after the Montgomery Bus Boycott.
Teaching Gloria E. Anzaldúa: Pedagogy and Practice for Our Classrooms and Communities
Book — Non-fiction. Edited by Cantú-Sánchez, de León-Zepeda, and Cantú. 2020. 360 pages.
Essays on the first-hand use of Gloria E. Anzaldúa's theories in classrooms and community environments.
Continue reading
Essays on the first-hand use of Gloria E. Anzaldúa's theories in classrooms and community environments.
Our History Is the Future: Standing Rock Versus the Dakota Access Pipeline, and the Long Tradition of Indigenous Resistance
Book — Non-fiction. By Nick Estes. 2024. 328 pages.
In Our History Is the Future, Nick Estes traces traditions of Indigenous resistance that led to the #NoDAPL movement.
Continue reading
In Our History Is the Future, Nick Estes traces traditions of Indigenous resistance that led to the #NoDAPL movement.
The Rebellious Life of Mrs. Rosa Parks
Film. Directed by Johanna Hamilton and Yoruba Richen. Produced by Soledad O’Brien. 2022. 101 minutes.
This documentary sheds light on Rosa Parks' extensive organizing, radical politics, and lifelong dedication to justice.
Continue reading
This documentary sheds light on Rosa Parks' extensive organizing, radical politics, and lifelong dedication to justice.
Aug. 15, 1988: Food Not Bombs Volunteers Arrested
Nine volunteers were arrested for sharing food and literature at Golden Gate Park.
Continue reading
Under the Skin: The Hidden Toll of Racism on American Lives and on the Health of Our Nation
Book — Non-fiction. By Linda Villarosa. 2023. 288 pages.
This book details racial health disparities in the United States.
Continue reading
This book details racial health disparities in the United States.
Cooked: Survival by ZIP Code
Film. Directed by Judith Helfand. 2020. 54 minutes.
This documentary focuses on Chicago’s heat wave to look at how a weeklong tragedy is really a story about the “slow-motion disaster” caused by race and class inequality.
Continue reading
This documentary focuses on Chicago’s heat wave to look at how a weeklong tragedy is really a story about the “slow-motion disaster” caused by race and class inequality.
May 17, 1980: Miami Riots Begin
Following the acquittal of four Miami police officers in the brutal murder of Arthur McDuffie, Black residents rose up in protest at the injustice of these acquittals.
Continue reading
Jan. 4, 1977: Students Successfully Sue School Board Over Book Bans
Fed up with books being banned by the school administration, students at Island Trees High School in Long Island, New York sued the school board for this unconstitutional censorship in a case that went all the way up to the Supreme Court.
Continue reading
Morningside: The 1979 Greensboro Massacre and the Struggle for an American City’s Soul
Book — Non-fiction. By Aran Shetterly. 2024. 480 pages.
Drawing from survivor interviews, court documents, and FBI files, this book details the “Greensboro Massacre.”
Continue reading
Drawing from survivor interviews, court documents, and FBI files, this book details the “Greensboro Massacre.”
Feb. 28, 1997: Teachers Suspended for Chicano Studies Lessons
Nadine and Patsy Córdova were targets of a white supremacist campaign after teaching ethnic studies through resources like 500 Years of Chicano History and sponsoring the school’s first chapter of MEChA (Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano de Aztlán).
Continue reading
Si, Se Puede! Yes, We Can!: Janitor Strike in L.A.
Picture book. By Diana Cohn and illustrated by Francisco Delgado. 2008. 31 pages.
A children's book based on the true story of the Justice for Janitors strike.
Continue reading
A children's book based on the true story of the Justice for Janitors strike.
March 13, 1979: The Grenada Revolution
Grenada’s prime minister Eric Gairy was ousted in a coup organized by the New Jewel Movement and led by Maurice Bishop.
Continue reading
July 30, 1975: Massacre in El Salvador
Dozens of high school and university students in a peaceful protest were killed and injured by the U.S. backed Salvadoran police and National Guard.
Continue reading
April 5, 1979: Boston University Strike
Boston University refused to approve negotiated contract, so the faculty union called a strike, with Howard Zinn as co-chair of strike committee. Other staff and librarians also went on strike that spring.
Continue reading
A Message from the Future with Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
Film. Narrated by Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and illustrated by Molly Crabapple. The Intercept. 2019. 7 minutes.
The film flips the script on our future by illustrating one where we survive climate change and thrive because we took action today.
Continue reading
The film flips the script on our future by illustrating one where we survive climate change and thrive because we took action today.
April 19, 1989: “Central Park Five” Arrested
The New York Police Department falsely accused four African American teenagers and one Latino teenager who became known as the “Central Park Five.”
Continue reading
April 4, 1985: Students Blockade Columbia Univ. to Protest Apartheid
The successful 1985 student blockade of Hamilton Hall lasted for three weeks, as students demanded that Columbia University divest from corporations profiting from apartheid South Africa.
Continue reading
Dec. 2, 1980: Three Nuns and Lay Worker Killed in El Salvador
Three nuns and a lay worker were killed in El Salvador by members of the U.S.-backed National Guard.
Continue reading
Grenada: ‘A Lovely Little War’
By Bill Bigelow
Continue reading
Anti-bullying curricula are the rage these days. But the official history curriculum teachers are provided often celebrates, or at least excuses, bullying among nations. Well, at least when the United States is the bully.
A good example is the U.S. invasion of Grenada — Operation Urgent Fury, as it was called by the Reagan administration — launched on Oct. 25, 1983. Grenada made an unlikely target of U.S. military might. Its main product was not oil but nutmeg. Its naval fleet consisted of about 10 fishing trawlers. Grenada’s population of 110,000 was smaller than Peoria, Illinois. At the time of the invasion, there was not a single stoplight in the entire country. So what put Grenada in the crosshairs of the Reagan administration?
A good example is the U.S. invasion of Grenada — Operation Urgent Fury, as it was called by the Reagan administration — launched on Oct. 25, 1983. Grenada made an unlikely target of U.S. military might. Its main product was not oil but nutmeg. Its naval fleet consisted of about 10 fishing trawlers. Grenada’s population of 110,000 was smaller than Peoria, Illinois. At the time of the invasion, there was not a single stoplight in the entire country. So what put Grenada in the crosshairs of the Reagan administration?