Mrs. Fannie Lou Hamer, and the other members of the MFDP at the Democratic National Convention, questioned the nation about the lack of “one person, one vote” in the United States.
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Colin Kaepernick, quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers, draws attention to his quiet protest against police brutality during an NFL pre-season game.
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White supremacists violently attacked a Jacksonville youth-led lunch counter sit-in.
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People’s Tribunal on killing of three young men at Algiers Motel in Detroit.
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This lesson by Cierra Kaler-Jones invites students to consider how Rosa Parks’ legacy is memorialized by critically examining her statue at the U.S. Capitol. Students learn the fuller story of Rosa Parks’ life and use that information to determine how they would memorialize her legacy.
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Book — Non-fiction. By Chris Myers Asch and George Derek Musgrove. 2019. 624 pages.
Tells the tumultuous, four-century story of race and democracy in our nation’s capital.
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Burglund students walked out in response to the expulsions of their classmates and the murder of Herbert Lee.
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Posters.
Portraits by Robert Shetterly and biographies of individuals who have taken a stand for justice.
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Book — Non-fiction. By John Carlos and Dave Zirin. Foreword by Cornel West. 2011. 220 pages.
Written for grades 7+, this biography of John Carlos recounts his childhood, his legendary act of courage at the '68 Olympics, and the backlash.
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Teaching Activity. By Moé Yonamine. Rethinking Schools. 18 pages.
Poetry, photography, and text are used in this role play to teach about the seldom told history of Japanese Latin American incarceration during WWII.
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A. Philip Randolph, Jackie Robinson, Coretta Scott King, Harry Belafonte, Bayard Rustin, and more led a Youth March for Integrated Schools in Washington, D.C.
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Five Black men were arrested for staging a peaceful sit-in at the Alexandria “public” library that denied access to African Americans, making this the anniversary of one of the earliest instances of this form of non-violent protest that became popular in the mid-20th century.
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Clyde Kennard (June 12, 1927–July 4, 1963) bravely and righteously tried to pursue higher education in Mississippi. He faced the fatal wrath of the state as a result of his efforts to challenge white supremacy.
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Rethinking Schools editor Jesse Hagopian talked to activist scholars Bettina Aptheker and Robert Cohen about their books, the Free Speech Movement (FSM), and current threats to free speech.
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The Supreme Court ruled that schools in the U.S. had to desegregate “immediately,” instead of the previous ruling of “with all deliberate speed.”
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Teaching Activity. By Jack Bareilles.
Questions and teaching ideas for Chapter 19 of Voices of a People's History of the United States on the emergence and legacy of the 1960s counterculture, as well as the movements it helped create.
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Police arrived at the Stonewall Inn and arrested anyone found to be cross-dressing, resulting in mayhem and what are now referred to as the Stonewall Riots. This was a milestone in a long history of LGBTQ+ activism.
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Gay and lesbian activists on the east coast protested in front of Independence Hall in Philadelphia to demand equitable treatment and respect.
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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.
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Hundreds of thousands of civil rights activists marched on Washington for Jobs and Freedom.
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The Albany Movement engaged multiple civil rights organizations and students in the fight for desegregation and voting rights.
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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.
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Film. Produced by Moctesuma Esparza. 2006. 111 minutes.
Walkout tells the true story of the Chicano students of East L.A., who in 1968 staged several dramatic walkouts in their high schools to protest academic prejudice and dire school conditions.
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Film. Produced by Henry Hampton. Blackside. 1987. 360 minutes.
Comprehensive documentary history of the Civil Rights Movement.
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