1945–1960 Archives

Feb. 2 and 5, 1951: Virginia Executes the Martinsville Seven

In 1951, the Commonwealth of Virginia executed seven Black men despite a national campaign in their defense.

McCarthy State Dep't | Zinn Education Project

Feb. 9, 1950: Sen. Joseph McCarthy Announces “Enemies Within”

Senator Joseph McCarthy delivered a speech at the McLure Hotel during which he claimed to hold a list of known communists in the U.S. State Department.

Freedom Walkers: The Story of the Montgomery Bus Boycott

Book — Non-fiction. By Russell Freedman. 2006. 114 pages.
Written for middle school, the grassroots history of the Montgomery Bus Boycott.

Haiku and Hiroshima: Teaching About the Atomic Bomb

Teaching Activity. By Wayne Au. Rethinking Schools. 3 pages.
Lesson for high school students on the bombing of Hiroshima using the film Barefoot Gen and haiku.

Have You Heard From Johannesburg

Film. Directed by Connie Field. 2007. 89 minutes.
Episode that covers the anti-apartheid movement in the U.S. to overturn apartheid in South Africa.

How History Got the Rosa Parks Story Wrong

Article. By Jeanne Theoharis. The Washington Post. 2015.
The radical life history of Rosa Parks, before and after the Montgomery Bus Boycott.

James Baldwin

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

Jan. 1, 1960: Greenville Airport Protest

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

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.

Journey to Jo’burg: A South African Story

Book — Fiction. By Beverley Naidoo, illustrated by Eric Velasquez. 1988. 96 pages.
A brother and sister take their sick sibling to the city of Johannesburg to get their mother at work, and come to understand the struggle for freedom and dignity taking place in South Africa.

Cicero Riot - Burning | The Zinn Education Project

July 11, 1951: Cicero Riot Over Housing Desegregation

Thousands of white people rioted after a young Black couple moved into an apartment in Cicero, Illinois, west of Chicago. They firebombed the building, overturned police cars, and threw stones at firefighters who tried to put out the fire.

June 12, 1956: Paul Robeson Testifies Before HUAC

Paul Robeson testified before the House Committee on Un-American Activities, where he was questioned about his political speech, associations, and party affiliation.

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.

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.

Langston Hughes: “Montage of a Dream Deferred”

Film clip. Voices of a People's History.
Dramatic reading of Langston Hughes' "Montage of a Dream Deferred" (1951) by Danny Glover.

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.

Malcolm X: Make It Plain

Film. Written by Steve Fayer and Orlando Bagwell. 1994. 138 minutes.
Documentary film on the life and words of Malcolm X/ El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz.

May 14, 1960: Firehoses Confront Free Speech in S.F. City Hall

Peaceful protesters formed a picket line at the House on Un-American Activities Committee hearings.

May 27, 1958: Ernest Green Graduates from Little Rock

Ernest Green became the first African-American to graduate from Little Rock Central High School in 1958.

May 7, 1954: Viet Minh Victory

The Viet Minh scored their final victory over the French at Dien Bien Phu.

Memphis Martin and the Mountaintop 9781629797182 (Book Cover) | Zinn Education Project

Memphis, Martin, and the Mountaintop: The Sanitation Strike of 1968

Picture book. By Alice Faye Duncan. Illustrated by R. Gregory Christie. 2018. 40 pages.
A historical fiction picture book that presents the story of nine-year-old Lorraine Jackson, who in 1968 witnessed the Memphis sanitation strike.

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.

Mississippi Trial, 1955

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

Nuclear Savage: The Islands of Secret Project 4.1

Film. By Adam Jonas Horowitz. 2012. 60 and 87 minutes.
History of the U.S. government's testing of nuclear weapons and fallout on the people of the Marshall Islands.

John Earl Reese | Zinn Education Project

Oct. 22, 1955: John Earl Reese Murdered

In an effort to stop the implementation of Brown v. Board through terrorism, 16-yr-old John Earl Reese was killed in Mayflower, Texas.

Time Period

Theme

Resource Type

Grade

Keywords