Democracy & Citizenship Archives

Colfax Massacre in Colfax, Louisiana | Zinn Education Project: Teaching People's History

April 13, 1873: Colfax Massacre

The Ku Klux Klan carried out the Colfax Massacre in response to a Republican victory in the 1872 elections.

April 11, 1835: Thaddeus Stevens Gives Speech in Defense of Free Schools Act

Thaddeus Stevens gave a speech in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives in defense of the Free Schools Act of 1834, which moved the state House to vote against repeal and the Senate to take another vote in support of free public schools.

The Essential Mario Savio: Speeches and Writings that Changed America

Book — Non-fiction. Edited by Robert Cohen, with a foreword by Tom Hayden and an afterword by Robert Reich. 2014. 320 pages.

An Appeal to the Coloured Citizens of the World manuscript cover.

Sept. 28, 1829: An Appeal to the Coloured Citizens of the World

David Walker published An Appeal to the Coloured Citizens of the World, one of the most important documents of the 19th century.

Oct. 26, 2001: PATRIOT Act Signed

President George W. Bush signed the USA PATRIOT Act, which rolled back civil liberties for U.S. citizens and immigrants.

collage of six Black abolitionists in the United States.

‘If There Is No Struggle…’: Teaching a People’s History of the Abolition Movement

Teaching Activity. By Bill Bigelow. Rethinking Schools. 16 pages.
In this lesson, students explore many of the real challenges faced by abolitionists with a focus on the American Anti-Slavery Society.

Teaching Activity by Bill Bigelow

May 18, 1896: Plessy v. Ferguson Ruling

Plessy v. Ferguson upheld the constitutionality of racial segregation laws for public facilities.

Executive Order 9066 | Zinn Education Project

Feb. 19, 1942: Executive Order 9066

Executive Order 9066 issued by President Roosevelt authorized the incarceration (internment) of U.S. citizens of Japanese descent.

Vietnam Veterans Against the War | ZInn Education Project

June 1, 1967: Vietnam Veterans Against the War Founded

The Vietnam Veterans Against the War (VVAW) was founded in New York.

May 4, 1970: Kent State Massacre

During an anti-war protest at Kent State University, the Ohio National Guard shot unarmed college students, killing four. Students were also killed at Jackson State (May 15, 1970), and Orangeburg (February 8, 1968).

May 16, 1918: The Sedition Act of 1918 Enacted

The Sedition Act of 1918 was enacted to extend the Espionage Act of 1917. It forbade the use of “disloyal, profane, scurrilous, or abusive language” about the U.S. government.

Spottswood Thomas Bolling Jr. and his mother Mrs. Sarah Bolling of the Bolling v. Sharpe school desegregation case, decided on the same day as Brown v. Board. Image: © The Washington Post by permission from the Washingtoniana Division.

May 17, 1954: Brown v. Board Ruling

After decades of organizing and strategic efforts by parents, teachers, lawyers, and more — the U.S. Supreme Court issued the unanimous decision in Brown v. Board of Education on school segregation.

May 17, 1968: Catonsville Nine Burn Draft Records

Nine people entered the Selective Service Offices, removed and burned draft records, and were collectively arrested in protest of the Vietnam War — they became known as the Catonsville Nine.

A sign for the Audubon Library Summer Reading Program at the library's St. Helena Parish branch beckons residents in Greensburg.

March 7, 1964: St. Helena Four Stage Sit-In at Louisiana Library

Four Black teenagers tried to enter the whites-only St. Helena branch of the Audubon Regional Library in Greensburg, Louisiana. Instead, the library closed. Undeterred, the St. Helena Four continued to try to desegregate the local library and other segregated facilities.

Sept. 29, 1943: Lewisburg Federal Penitentiary Hunger Strike

Conscientious objectors began a hunger strike at Lewisburg Federal Penitentiary.

Jewish prisoners in Baden-Baden | Zinn Education Project

Nov. 9, 1938: Pogromnacht in Germany and Austria

Violent anti-Jewish demonstrations in Europe in which hundreds of synagogues were destroyed; 7,500 Jewish-owned businesses, homes, and schools were plundered; 91 Jews were murdered; and 30,000 Jewish men were arrested and sent to concentration camps.

The Knotted Line

Website. Interactive timeline that connects moments in history related to the prison industrial complex.

Detail of portrait of Frank Little by Nicole Schulman.

Aug. 1, 1917: Labor Organizer Frank Little Lynched

IWW labor organizer Frank Little was lynched from a railroad trestle.

June 13, 1866: 14th Amendment Passed

The 14th Amendment to the constitution was passed, granting citizenship to “all persons born or naturalized in the United States.”

May 25, 1865: Black Virginians Cast Freedom Ballots

African Americans tested their right to vote and when denied, cast their own “freedom ballots,” on election day in Norfolk, Virginia.

June 14, 1943: Supreme Court Finds Compulsory Flag Salutes Unconstitutional

On Flag Day 1943, the Supreme Court invalidated a compulsory flag salute law in public schools and established that students possess some level of First Amendment rights.

March 1, 1964: Sheraton-Palace Hotel Protests

Thousands of people took to the streets outside of the Sheraton-Palace Hotel in San Francisco to protest the hotel’s unfair hiring practices, which permitted Black people and people of color only the most menial of jobs.

Race to Incarcerate: A Graphic Retelling

Book — Non-fiction. By Marc Mauer and Sabrina Jones. 2013. 128 pages.
Based on the popular book Race to Incarcerate, this graphic adaptation is a key resource to introduce a study of U.S. prison system to middle school readers and above.

Francis Scott Key Opposed “Land of the Free”

Article. By Jefferson Morley. 2012.
"Star-Spangled Banner" songwriter Francis Scott Key opposed abolitionists and free speech in his role as district attorney of the city of Washington.

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

June 30, 1966: Fort Hood Three Release Public Statement on Vietnam Refusal

The Fort Hood Three issued a public statement about their refusal to be sent to Vietnam.

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