1945–1960 Archives

On the Freedom Side: How Five Decades of Youth Activists Have Remixed American History

Book — Non-fiction. By Wesley C. Hogan. 2019. 368 pages.
This comprehensive collection documents and assesses young people’s interventions in the fight for democracy in the United States.

Dec. 26, 1956: Fred Shuttlesworth Leads Protest to Desegregate Birmingham Buses

The Reverend Fred Shuttlesworth and others were met with coordinated white supremacist violence when attempting to desegregate Birmingham city buses.

Black Panther Woman: The Political and Spiritual Life of Ericka Huggins

Book — Non-fiction. By Mary Frances Phillips. 2025. 320 pages.
The first biography of Ericka Huggins, a queer Black woman who brought spiritual self-care practices to the Black Panther Party.

Oct. 28, 1958: Two Children Arrested in N. Carolina

Following a kiss by a 7-year-old white girl, two young Black boys ages 8 and 9 were unlawfully arrested and brutally treated in Monroe, North Carolina.

July 11, 1954: First White Citizens’ Council Formed

White residents of Indianola, Mississippi, formed the first White Citizens’ Council to organize and carry out massive resistance to racial integration of public schools.

Black Power and Palestine: Transnational Countries of Color

Book — Non-fiction. By Michael R. Fischbach. 2018. 296 pages.
Explores the connections between organizers of the Black Freedom Struggle and those struggling for Palestinian autonomy.

Understanding Palestine & Israel

Book — Non-fiction. By Phyllis Bennis. 2025. 240 pages.
Answers to commonly asked questions about Palestine and Israel, written in popularly accessible language.

March 1, 1954: The Green Feather Movement Launched

Five students from Indiana University at Bloomington (IU) started the Green Feather Movement to protest censorship.

June 15, 1955: Protest of Nuclear Attack Drills

When the Civil Defense Administration attempted to hold a drill simulating a nuclear attack, 27 activists in New York refused to take cover. They handed out pamphlets reading: “We will not obey this order to pretend, to evacuate, to hide... We refuse to cooperate.”

Feb. 1, 1960: The Greensboro Sit-in Begins

Four African-American North Carolina A&T University students began a sit-in protest at a Woolworth’s whites-only lunch counter.

CORE Members Woolowrth's Sit-in (photo) | Zinn Education Project

Feb. 20, 1960: Patricia Stephens Due Called for “Jail, No Bail”

Patricia Stephens Due refused to pay bail after being arrested for a sit-in in Florida.

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 14, 1954: Salt of the Earth Premieres

The film Salt of the Earth premiered at the 86th Street Grande Theatre, the only theater in New York City that would show the film.

Feb. 18, 1946: Courts Ruled in Favor of the Mendez Family

The courts ruled in favor of the Mendez family and their co-plaintiffs in California, finding segregated schools to be unconstitutional.

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.

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.

Journey for Justice: The Life of Larry Itliong

Picture book. By Dawn Bohulano Mabalon and Gayle Romasanta. Illustrated by Andre Sibayan. 2018.
The first nonfiction illustrated Filipino-American history book for children tells the story of labor activist Larry Itliong, who organized farmworkers on the West Coast in the mid-20th century.

March 15, 1960: Police Attack SC Students in Peaceful Protest

Police used firehoses to attack South Carolina college students engaged in a peaceful protest against segregation. The judge sends their NAACP lawyer to jail for “pursuing his case vigorously.”

March 16, 1958: White Supremacists Bomb Jewish Community Center

In one of many white supremacists attacks during the early years of the Civil Rights Movement, a Jewish Community Center was bombed in Nashville, Tennessee.

A New Kind of Youth: Historically Black High Schools and Southern Student Activism, 1920-1975

Book — Non-fiction. 2022. By Jon N. Hale. 348 pages.
An examination of Black high school student activism in the civil rights era, illustrating how Black youth supported liberatory movements and inspired their elders across the South.

Rethinking the Vietnam War | Zinn Education Project

Rethinking the Teaching of the Vietnam War

Teaching Activity. By Bill Bigelow. Rethinking Schools. 8 pages.
A role play on the history of the Vietnam War that is left out of traditional textbooks.

Teaching Activity by Bill Bigelow

Intimate Politics: How I Grew Up Red, Fought for Free Speech, and Became a Feminist Rebel

Book — Non-fiction. By Bettina Aptheker. 2006. 375 pages.
An uncompromising account of one woman’s personal and political transformation, and a fascinating portrayal of the McCarthy trials, the Vietnam War, and the rise of the women’s movement.

The Green Feather Movement

Article. By Alison Kysia. 2013.
History of a little-known student resistance movement against McCarthyism and censorship.

Teaching Activity by Alison Kysia

Ruth and the Green Book

Picture book. By Calvin Alexander Ramsey with Gwen Strauss. Illustrated by Floyd Cooper. 2010. 32 pages.
Story for young readers about an African American family travelling during the Jim Crow era and the networks of support and services listed in The Green Book.

Boycott

Film. By Clark Johnson. 2001. 120 minutes.
Dramatic account of the Montgomery Bus Boycott.

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