- Zinn Education Project

James Baldwin

Profile. A brief biography of James Baldwin, writer and social critic.

Jan. 23, 1957: Klan Forces Man to Jump from Bridge

Mr. Willie Edwards Jr., a 24-year-old African American man, was murdered by members of the Alabama KKK.

Julius and Ethel Rosenberg (photo) | Zinn Education Project

March 29, 1951: Julius and Ethel Rosenberg Convicted of Espionage

Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were convicted of espionage.

Chávez Ravine: A Record by Ry Cooder

Songs. By Ry Cooder. 2005. 70 minutes.
The story of the Chicano community bulldozed to pave the way for the Dodger Stadium in Santa Monica, told through bilingual songs.

Cover of "Race and Place" - RS magazine | Zinn Education Project

“Why Is This the Only Place in Portland I See Black People?”: Teaching Young Children About Redlining

Teaching Activity. By Katharine Johnson. Rethinking Schools. 10 pages.
An elementary school teacher introduces the history of redlining through a role play designed for 1st and 2nd graders.

June 5, 1950: The Supreme Court and School Segregation Cases

The Supreme Court ruled in favor of the plaintiffs in three cases that weakened the structure of legalized segregation.

Ella Baker and the Black Freedom Movement: A Radical Democratic Vision

Book — Non-fiction. By Barbara Ransby. 2005. 495 pages.
This biography chronicles Baker's long and rich political career as an organizer, an intellectual, and a teacher, from her early experiences in depression-era Harlem to the civil rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s.

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.

Banished

Film. Center for Investigative Reporting and Two Tone Productions. 2007. 84 minutes.
Filmmaker Marco Williams examined four examples of primarily white communities violently rising up to force their African-American neighbors to flee town.

Feb. 8, 1946: WWII Veteran Timothy Hood Killed

Timothy Hood, a veteran of the U.S. Marines, was killed for removing a Jim Crow sign.

March 30, 1952: Charlotta Bass Accepts U.S. VP Nomination

California newspaper owner and anti-Klan activist Charlotta Spears Bass became the first African American nominated to be a U.S. political party's vice-presidential candidate.

Rethinking What We Know About the Vietnam War

Teaching Activity. Zinn Education Project. 21 pages.
Two lessons to introduce key facts about the Vietnam War and the Pentagon Papers, documents that provide essential history that is often ignored by textbooks.

Jan. 1, 1960: Greenville Airport Protest

South Carolina NAACP held Greenville Airport Protest in support of Jackie Robinson.

April 9, 1947: First Freedom Ride

The first freedom ride, the Journey of Reconciliation, left Washington, D.C. to travel through four states of the upper South.

We Are One: The Story of Bayard Rustin

Picture book. By Larry Dane Brimner. 2007. 48 pages.
A sophisticated picture book on key civil rights leader Bayard Rustin.

Stealing Home: Eminent Domain, Urban Renewal, and the Loss of Community

Teaching Activity. By Linda Christensen. Rethinking Schools. 9 pages.
Teaching about patterns of displacement and wealth inequality through the history of Chávez Ravine and the building of Dodger Stadium.

Teaching Activity by Linda Christensen

June 9, 1954: Joseph Welch Confronts Sen. Joseph McCarthy

Joseph N. Welch confronted Sen. Joseph McCarthy about allegations of communists in the U.S. Army.

Eslanda: The Large and Unconventional Life of Mrs. Paul Robeson

Book — Non-fiction. By Barbara Ransby. 2013. 373 pages.
This biography of cosmopolitan anthropologist Eslanda Cardozo Goode Robeson explores her influence on her husband's early career, their open marriage, and her life as a prolific journalist, a tireless advocate of women's rights, and an outspoken anti-colonial and antiracist activist.

The Vietnam Wars: 1945-1990

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

Coretta Scott King (R) with Women Strike for Peace founder Dagmar Wilson, 1963 | Zinn Education Project

W. E. B. Du Bois to Coretta Scott King: The Untold History of the Movement to Ban the Bomb

By Vincent Intondi

When the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. announced his strong opposition to the war in Vietnam, the media attacked him for straying outside of his civil rights mandate. In so many words, powerful interests told him: “Mind your own business.” In fact, African American leaders have long been concerned with broad issues of peace and justice—and have especially opposed nuclear weapons. Unfortunately, this activism is left out of mainstream corporate-produced history textbooks.

Aug. 3, 1946: J. C. Farmer Killed

J. C. Farmer, a 19-year-old African American WWII veteran, was killed by a mob of 20 white men.

Madiba A to Z: The Many Faces of Nelson Mandela

Book — Non-fiction. Danny Schechter. 2013. 272 pages.
Companion book to the 2013 film about Nelson Mandela, Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom.

April 1, 1955: ANC Protest Bantu Education Act

The African National Congress called on parents to withdraw their children from schools to resist the 1953 Bantu Education Act.

The Untold History of the United States: Young Readers Editions, Vols 1 (1898-1945) & 2 (1945-1962)

Book — Non-fiction. By Oliver Stone and Peter Kuznick. Adapted by Susan Campbell Bartoletti and Eric S. Singer. Vol 1. 400 pages. 2014. Vol 2. 320 pages. 2019.
These are two volumes of illustrated histories, adapted for students from a documentary book and film of the same name.

Remembering Jim Crow: African Americans Tell About Life in the Segregated South

Book — Non-fiction (with CD). Edited by William H. Chafe, Raymond Gavins and Robert Korstad. 2008. 346 pages.
Extensive oral history of African American life under segregation.