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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Theme: Democracy & Citizenship
Democracy & Citizenship
June 26, 1959: Prince Edward County Closes Public Schools
Rather than desegregate, the Prince Edward County, Virginia Board of Supervisors refused to appropriate money from the County School Board to the public schools.
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June 25, 1954: Elementary School Teacher Fired in Red Scare
At the height of the anti-Communist Red Scare, Massachusetts second-grade teacher Anne P. Hale Jr. was removed from her position because of her prior membership in the Communist Party.
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Revolutionary Founders: Rebels, Radicals, and Reformers in the Making of the Nation
Book — Non-fiction. Edited by Alfred F. Young, Gary Nash, and Ray Raphael. 2012. 464 pages.
In twenty-two original essays, leading historians reveal the radical impulses at the founding of the American Republic.
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In twenty-two original essays, leading historians reveal the radical impulses at the founding of the American Republic.
July 17, 1944: Port Chicago Disaster and Mutiny
A deadly munitions explosion occurred at the Port Chicago Naval Magazine in Port Chicago, California. When the surviving African Americans sailors demanded safer conditions before returning to work, they faced court martial and jail.
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July 23, 1890: F. M. B. “Marsh” Cook Killed
F. M. B. “Marsh” Cook, a white man, was killed for standing up against the white supremacist 1890 Mississippi Constitutional Convention.
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Aug. 1, 1952: Sarah Keys Refuses to Give Up Her Seat on a Bus
Sarah Keys refused to give up her seat on a state-to-state charter bus, prompting the landmark court case, Sarah Keys v. Carolina Coach Company.
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Aug. 8, 1964: Freedom Schools Convention
The Freedom Schools Convention was held in Meridian, Mississippi
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Remembering 1882: Fighting for Civil Rights in the Shadow of the Chinese Exclusion Act
Digital collection. Primary documents, historical background, and more on the Chinese Exclusion Act and the history of Chinese American struggles for civil rights.
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Dec. 27, 1937: Harriet Elizabeth Brown Case Settled
Harriet Elizabeth Brown, a teacher from Maryland, sued for equal pay for Black teachers and won the case.
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June 3, 1946: Morgan v. Commonwealth of Virginia
SCOTUS ruled against Jim Crow segregation on interstate commerce in Morgan v. Commonwealth of Virginia, leading to Journey of Reconciliation Freedom Rides.
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Aug. 4, 1964: Civil Rights Workers Bodies Found
The bodies of three lynched civil rights workers (James Chaney, Michael Schwerner, and Andrew Goodman) were found in Neshoba County, Mississippi.
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Aug. 22, 1781: Elizabeth Mumbet Freeman Secures Her Freedom
Elizabeth Mumbet Freeman won her freedom after she got an attorney and filed a “freedom suit” under the 1780 State Constitution for Massachusetts.
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When the Impossible Suddenly Became Possible: A Reconstruction Mixer
Teaching Activity. By Adam Sanchez and Nqobile Mthethwa. 25 pages.
A mixer role play explores the connections between different social movements during Reconstruction.
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A mixer role play explores the connections between different social movements during Reconstruction.
Nov. 3, 1883: Danville Riot
African Americans voters were threatened after the Danville Riot, leading to their loss of political power in this majority African American city in Virginia.
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Jan. 14, 1868: South Carolina Constitutional Convention
The South Carolina constitutional convention met with a majority of Black delegates, adopting a constitution that provided for all people regardless of race, economic class, or gender.
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March 24, 1966: Supreme Court Officially Abolishes Last Vestige of Poll Taxes
A U.S. Supreme Court decision bans poll taxes for state and local elections.
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Trouble in Censorville: The Far Right’s Assault on Public Education and the Teachers Who are Fighting Back
Book — Non-fiction. Edited by Nadine M. Kalin and Rebekah Modrak. 2024. 296 pages.
Gives readers a teacher’s-eye view of the radical right crusade to take down public education, coordinated by well-funded, well-connected far-right political interests.
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Gives readers a teacher’s-eye view of the radical right crusade to take down public education, coordinated by well-funded, well-connected far-right political interests.
Aug. 13, 1955: Lamar Smith Murdered
Lamar Smith, 63-year-old farmer and WWI veteran, was shot dead in Brookhaven, Mississippi, for urging African Americans to vote.
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Aug. 16, 1955: Paul Robeson Lost Court Appeal
Paul Robeson lost his court appeal to have the U.S. State Department grant him a passport.
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Chocolate City: A History of Race and Democracy in the Nation’s Capital
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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Tells the tumultuous, four-century story of race and democracy in our nation’s capital.
What Rights Do We Have?
Teaching Activity. By Bill Bigelow and Norm Diamond. 8 pages.
This lesson teaches some of the nuts and bolts of labor unions and then moves beyond to ask students to consider what rights they have at work, and to recognize that “rights” depend in large part on what people have fought for and won.
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This lesson teaches some of the nuts and bolts of labor unions and then moves beyond to ask students to consider what rights they have at work, and to recognize that “rights” depend in large part on what people have fought for and won.
The Originalism Trap: How Extremists Stole the Constitution and How We the People Can Take It Back
Book — Non-fiction. By Madiba K. Dennie. 2024. 304 pages.
Shows readers that the Constitution belongs to them and how, by understanding its possibilities, they can use it to fight for their rights.
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Shows readers that the Constitution belongs to them and how, by understanding its possibilities, they can use it to fight for their rights.
Aug. 22, 1964: Sharecroppers Demand Delivery of Full Suffrage in the U.S.
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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Sept. 11, 2001: Orlando and Phyllis Rodriguez: “Not In Our Son’s Name”
Orlando and Phyllis Rodriguez spoke out against using September 11, 2001 as a pretext for war.
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