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Fort Hood Three Press Conference | Zinn Education Project: Teaching People's History

“We Will Not Be Part of this Unjust, Immoral, and Illegal War”: Remembering the Fort Hood Three

On June 30, 1966, dozens of people assembled in the basement auditorium of the Community Church for a big announcement. All of them gathered to hear the words of three soldiers, Privates David Samas and Dennis Mora, and Private First Class James A. Johnson. The G.I.’s convened the press conference to perform a bold act: they intended to refuse their orders to go fight.

Under Pressure, Scholastic Recalls Racist Children’s Book

By Deborah Menkart A firestorm erupted when Scholastic released a children's book early this month, A Birthday Cake for George Washington, by Ramin Ganeshram and illustrated by Vanessa Brantley-Newton, featuring smiling slaves baking a cake for George Washington.

Black History Month and the Cuban Solidarity Movement of the 1870s

By Paul Ortiz Seven years after the end of the Civil War, hundreds of African Americans in Baltimore gathered at historic Madison Street (Colored) Presbyterian Church for the purpose, “[O]f adopting measures to petition the Congress of the United States to tender the powerful mediation of this great government towards ameliorating the sad condition of a half million of our brethren now held in slavery in the island of Cuba by Spain.”

“The Birth of a Nation”: A Century Later

By William Loren Katz By an odd coincidence the first week of Black History Month this February, Time magazine ran an article on the 100th anniversary of the first public showing of the movie classic The Birth of a Nation. This silent film was Hollywood’s first blockbuster, first great historical epic, first full-length film, and first to introduce modern cinematic techniques that still keep audiences enthralled. Time noted the movie’s problem. From its casting and content to its dramatic conclusion it was unabashedly racist.

Ordinary Citizens Catalyzing Change: A ‘People’s History’ of 2013

By Katy Swalwell This year has been full of examples of people making history. Although newspapers and textbooks often focus on political and military leaders, the real story was with "ordinary people" in the streets who challenged injustice and worked for good.

Bashing Howard Zinn: A Critical Look at One of the Critics

A critical response to “Undue Certainty: Where Howard Zinn’s A People’s History Falls Short" by Sam Wineburg.