1920–1944 Archives

E.Y. “Yip” Harburg: “Brother Can You Spare a Dime”

Film clip. Voices of a People's History.
E.Y. "Yip" Harburg's "Brother Can You Spare a Dime" (1932) is performed by Allison Moorer.

Vicky Starr: “Back of the Yards”

Film clip. Voices of a People's History.
Dramatic reading of Vicky Star's "Back of the Yards" by Christina Kirk.

Yuri Kochiyama | Zinn Education Project: Teaching People's History

Yuri Kochiyama: “Then Came the War”

Film clip. Voices of a People's History.
Dramatic reading of Yuri Kochiyama's "Then Came the War" (1991) by Deepa Fernandes.

Langston Hughes: “Ballad of Roosevelt”

Film clip. Voices of a People's History.
Dramatic reading of Langston Hughes' "Ballad of Roosevelt" (1934) by Danny Glover.

The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America’s Great Migration

Book — Non-fiction. By Isabel Wilkerson. 2010. 640 pages.
The story of the great migration told through in-depth descriptions of three families.

No Crystal Stair: A Documentary Novel of the Life and Work of Lewis Michaux, Harlem Bookseller

Book — Non-fiction. By Vaunda Micheaux Nelson. Artwork by R. Gregory Christie. 2012. 188 pages.
The story of Lewis Micheaux, owner of the famous National Memorial African Bookstore for grades 7+ .

The Great Migration: Journey to the North

Picture book. By Eloise Greenfield. Illustrated by Jan Spivey Gilchrist. 2011. 32 pages.
A picture book that introduces the historic story of the Great Migration to young readers.

Mississippi Morning

Picture book. By Ruth Vander Zee. Illustrated by Floyd Cooper. 2004. 32 pages.
A thought-provoking story of one boy's loss of naivete in the face of racism and harsh historical realities.

Tropical Secrets: Holocaust Refugees in Cuba

Book — Fiction. By Margarita Engle. 2009. 208 pages.
Daniel has escaped Nazi Germany and must make his way in Cuba once New York turns away his ship full of refugees.

The Lincoln Brigade: A Picture History

Book — Non-fiction. By William Loren Katz and Marc Crawford. 2013. 196 pages.
Interviews, documents, and photos from the first fully integrated United States army, who volunteered to help Spain defend its democracy against fascism.

Teaching Activity by William Loren Katz

Helen Keller: Rebellious Spirit

Book — Non-fiction. By Laurie Lawlor. 2001. 176 pages.
A biography that sheds light on Helen Keller as rebel and activist.

A Review of ‘42’: Jackie Robinson’s Bitter Pill

Article. By Dave Zirin. 2013.
Dave Zirin describes how 42 limits the story to a tale of “individual triumph through singular greatness,” ignoring the social movements and broader context of the time.

April 21, 1930: Inmates Burned Alive in Ohio State Penitentiary Fire

Three hundred and twenty-two inmates were killed in a fire at the Ohio State Penitentiary.

Sandino Rebellion: A Documentary History

Digital collection. Over 3,300 documents from the Sandino Rebellion in Nicaragua, 1927-1934.

Death in a Promised Land: The Tulsa Race Riot of 1921

Book — Non-fiction. By Scott Ellsworth. 1992. 159 pages.
A compelling story of racial ideologies, Southwestern politics, and yellow journalism, and of an embattled Black community's struggle to hold onto its land and freedom.

If We Must Die: A Novel of Tulsa’s 1921 Greenwood Riot

Book — Fiction. By Pat Carr. 2002. 166 pages.
Historical fiction account of the 1921 attack on Tulsa's Black neighborhood Greenwood, known as "Black Wall Street."

June 12, 1937: Oliver Law Became Brigade Commander

Oliver Law became first Black commander of a U.S. army, the integrated Abraham Lincoln Brigade.

Mama’s Window

Book — Historical fiction. By Lynn Rubright. 2008. 89 pages.
Historical fiction inspired by incidents in the early life of sharecropper Owen Whitfield, the organizer of the Southern Tenant Farmers Union.

The 1934 West Coast Longshore Strike

Teaching Activity. By Bill Bigelow and Norm Diamond. 20 pages.
Students “become” several of the social groups who participated in the 1934 Longshore Workers Strike — some of whom had to answer the question, “Which side are you on?”

Teaching Activity by Norm Diamond