African American Archives

Oct. 29, 1969: Supreme Court Rules Schools Must Desegregate

The Supreme Court ruled that schools in the U.S. had to desegregate “immediately,” instead of the previous ruling of “with all deliberate speed.”

historical marker for the Coal Creek War, 1891-92

Oct. 31, 1891: Coal Creek War

A labor uprising to protest convict leasing led to the Coal Creek War.

“Riots,” Racism, and the Police: Students Explore a Century of Police Conduct and Racial Violence

Teaching Activity. By Ursula Wolfe-Rocca.
Students explore three documents produced in the wake of three major episodes of racial violence (1919, 1967, 2014) to understand the long trajectory of police violence in Black communities.

The Voting Booth

Book — Fiction. By Brandy Colbert. 2020. 304 pages.
A novel for high school students that centers on voting rights — weaving in a myriad of voter suppression tactics and the importance of everyone playing a role in fighting for the right to vote.

Reconsidering Reparations

Book — Non-fiction. By Olúfẹ́mi O. Táíwò. 2025. 286 pages.
Táíwò’s take on reparations and distributive justice has wide implications for views of justice, racism, the legacy of colonialism, and climate change policy.

King of the North: Martin Luther King Jr.’s Life of Struggle Outside the South

Book — Non-fiction. 2025. By Jeanne Theoharis. 400 pages.
Illustrates how King’s time in Boston, New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago — outside Dixie — was at the heart of his campaign for racial justice.

Fight for the Right to Read

Book — Historical non-fiction. By Jeff Gottesfeld and Michelle Y. Green, and illustrated by Kim Holt. 2025. 36 pages.
The story of Samuel Wilbert Tucker, who organized a sit-in and subsequent court cases to challenge the exclusion of African Americans from public libraries.

SNCC Legacy Project Toolkits

Teaching Guides. By the SNCC Legacy Project. 2025.
Six toolkits that are free to download, each with primary documents, narrative history, photos, and discussion questions.

Jobs and Justice March | Zinn Education Project

Aug. 28, 1963: March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom

Hundreds of thousands of civil rights activists marched on Washington for Jobs and Freedom.

Oct. 30, 1870: Protest of Racist Policies on Streetcars in Louisville

Reconstruction era protest of racist discrimination on streetcars in Louisville, Kentucky.

Nov. 2, 1920: The Ocoee Massacre

More than fifty African Americans killed in the Ocoee Massacre after going to vote in Florida.

Nov. 10, 1898: Wilmington Massacre

The elected and interracial Reconstruction era local government was deposed in a coup d’etat in Wilmington, North Carolina.

Nov. 17, 1961: Albany Movement

The Albany Movement engaged multiple civil rights organizations and students in the fight for desegregation and voting rights.

A Peoples History of the United States Book | Zinn Education Project

A People’s History of the United States: 1492 – Present

Book — Non-fiction. By Howard Zinn. 2005, with a new introduction by Anthony Arnove in 2015. 784 pages.
Howard Zinn's groundbreaking work on U.S. history. This book details lives and facts rarely included in textbooks—an indispensable teacher and student resource.

The Politics of Children’s Literature: What’s Wrong with the Rosa Parks Myth

Article. By Herbert Kohl. Rethinking Schools.
A critical analysis that challenges the myths in children's books about Rosa Parks and the Montgomery Bus Boycott.

Eyes on the Prize: America’s Civil Rights Years, 1954-1985

Film. Produced by Henry Hampton. Blackside. 1987. 360 minutes.
Comprehensive documentary history of the Civil Rights Movement.

March 7, 1965: Bloody Sunday

To protest the police murder of Jimmie Lee Jackson and for voting rights, more than 600 people began a peaceful march from Selma to Montgomery.

Teaching Palestine-Israel from the Perspective of Civil Rights and Black Power Activists

Teaching Activity. By Hannah Gann, Nick Palazzolo, Keziah Ridgeway, and Adam Sanchez. Rethinking Schools. 2024. 23 pages.
This lesson highlights the complexity and diversity of thought as Civil Rights and Black Power leaders and organizations developed their views on Palestine-Israel.