2001- Archives

Children holding signs - Indigenous Peoples Day Parade - Seattle | Zinn Education Project: Teaching People's History

Support Indigenous Rights: Abolish Columbus Day

By Bill Bigelow

The movement to abolish Columbus Day and to establish in its place Indigenous Peoples' Day continues to gather strength, as every month new school districts and colleges take action. This campaign has been given new momentum as Indigenous peoples throughout the Americas assert their treaty and human rights. Especially notable is the inspiring struggle in North Dakota to stop the toxic Dakota Access Pipeline, led by the Standing Rock Sioux.

Dave Archambault, chairperson of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, explains that the oil pipeline “is threatening the lives of people, lives of my tribe, as well as millions down the river. It threatens the ancestral sites that are significant to our tribe. And we never had an opportunity to express our concerns. This is a corporation that is coming forward and just bulldozing through without any concern for tribes.”

The “bulldozing” of Indigenous lives, Indigenous lands, and Indigenous rights all began with Columbus’s invasion in 1492.

April 22, 2004: Football Star Pat Tillman Killed in Afghanistan

Football star and soldier Pat Tillman was killed in Afghanistan. The U.S. government used his death in pro-war propaganda.

Nov. 7, 1985: Court Ruling in Wrongful Case Against Rubin “Hurricane” Carter

U.S. District Court Judge handed down his decision to free Rubin “Hurricane” Carter who had been wrongfully accused of murder.

Jan. 12, 2010: Earthquake in Haiti

Haiti was hit with a devastating earthquake that took the lives of thousands and displaced even more‪.

Feb. 26, 2012: Trayvon Martin Murdered

Trayvon Martin, a Black teenager, was murdered. The death of Martin and acquittal of the man who shot him sparked the national and global Movement for Black Lives.

Jan. 1, 2009: Oscar Grant Killed

Oscar Grant was fatally shot by BART Police in Oakland.

Feb. 13, 2013: Keystone Pipeline Protesters Circle White House

Activists circled the White House to protest the Keystone Pipeline, an oil system that transports crude oil from Canada to various locations in the United States.

Feb. 14, 2011: Wisconsin Workers Strike

The Wisconsin Workers strike involved as many as 100,000 protesters opposing the 2011 Wisconsin Act 10.

March 16, 2003: Rachel Corrie Killed

Rachel Corrie was crushed to death by an Israeli military bulldozer while undertaking nonviolent direct action to protect the home of a Palestinian family from demolition.

United States Marine Corps in the Iraq War

March 20, 2003: Iraq War Invasion

It’s worth pausing to note how profoundly corporate textbooks mis-educate our students on the years of warfare in Iraq.

Protesters at Ginwan rally | Zinn Education Project

Nov. 8, 2009: Okinawa Protest

Thousands of Okinawan protesters on the island of Okinawa demanded the removal of the U.S. base there.

Sean Bell Memorial | Zinn Education Project

Nov. 25, 2006: Sean Bell Murdered

Sean Bell was murdered by New York City police on the day before his wedding.

Michele Roberts, environmental justice coordinator | Zinn Education Project

The Red Dot of Environmental Racism

Teaching Activity. By Alma Anderson McDonald.
A teacher looks back on her childhood to discover the meaning of environmental racism. Linda Christensen offers ways to teach about this story with students.

Yup'ik village children preparing salmon | Zinn Education Project

Climate Change and School in a Yup’ik Fishing Village

Article. By Jill Howdyshell.
The author describes how climate change is hitting Indigenous communities in Alaska much harder than other places in the world. And yet, administrators still insist that school discussions should focus on student test scores.

Aerial photo of mountaintop removal | Zinn Education Project

From Mountaintop Removal to Divestment: The Story of Swarthmore Students’ Fight Against Fossil Fuels

Article. By Hannah Jones.
The global movement to get institutions to divest from fossil fuels began with students. This article tells the inspiring story.

People’s Climate March, 2014 | Zinn Education Project

Blockadia: Teaching How the Movement Against Fossil Fuels Is Changing the World

Teaching Activity. By Bill Bigelow, Adam Sanchez, and Tim Swinehart.
A role-play activity engages students in building solidarity among different groups and organizations fighting fossil fuels and searching for alternatives.

Teaching Activity by Bill Bigelow

Street scene woodcut | Zinn Education Project

Teaching Sacrifice Zones

Teaching Activity. By Rosemarie Frascella. Rethinking Schools.
Our extractive fossil fuel-based economy has always demanded that some people’s homes and health be sacrificed for the benefit of more privileged and powerful others. This article explores how one teacher engages her students in thinking about how “sacrifice zones” play out in their lives.