Democracy & Citizenship Archives

A People’s History of Muslims in the United States

Article. By Alison Kysia. 2014. If We Knew Our History Series. Although the dominant media—including our schools’ curriculum—perpetuate stereotypes, history shows Muslims in the Americas have fought for social justice since the 15th century.

Teaching Activity by Alison Kysia

Japanese American Evacuation and Resettlement Online Archive

Digital collection. Firsthand accounts and primary sources of the incarceration of Japanese Americans during WWII.

Painting by Robert Shetterly from Americans Who Tell the Truth

July 30, 1881: Major Smedley Darlington Butler Born

Anti-war activist Major Smedley Darlington Butler was born.

Moses, Robert “Bob” Parris

Profile. Robert "Parris" Moses (born Jan. 23, 1935) is a voting rights organizer, educator, and founder of the Algebra Project.

Victoria Gray and MFDP delegates demonstrating | Zinn Education Project

Sharecroppers Challenge U.S. Apartheid: The Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party

Teaching Activity. By Julian Hipkins III, Deborah Menkart, Sara Evers, and Jenice View.
Role play on the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party (MFDP) that introduces students to a vital example of small “d” democracy in action. For grades 7+.

Teaching Activity by Deborah Menkart

Freedom Summer

Film. Written, produced, and directed by Stanley Nelson. 2014. 120 minutes.
Documentary about 1964 Freedom Summer in Mississippi.

This Nonviolent Stuff’ll Get You Killed: How Guns Made the Civil Rights Movement Possible

Book — Non-fiction. By Charles E. Cobb Jr. 2015. 328 pages.
Cobb Jr. describes the vital role that armed self-defense played in the survival and liberation of black communities in America during the Southern Freedom Movement of the 1960s.

Teaching Activity by Charles Cobb

On the Road to Voting Rights: Freedom Day in Selma, 1963

Article. By Howard Zinn. Excerpt from Chapter 5 of You Can't Be Neutral on a Moving Train.
Howard Zinn’s first-hand account of Selma’s Freedom Day in 1963.

April 15, 1960: Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee Founding

Founding of the youth-led Civil Rights Movement organization, the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee.

Stepping into Selma: Voting Rights History and Legacy Today

Teaching Activity. Teaching for Change. 2015. 20 pages.
Introductory lesson on key people and events in the long history of the Selma freedom movement.

SNCC Digital Gateway

Digital collection. Historical materials, profiles, timeline, map, and stories on SNCC’s voting rights organizing.

Muhammad Ali June20 | Zinn Education Project

June 20, 1967: Muhammad Ali Convicted for Refusing the Vietnam Draft

Muhammad Ali was convicted for refusing induction in the U.S. armed forces.

June 12, 1963: Medgar Evers Murdered in Mississippi

Medgar Evers, WWII veteran and civil rights activist, was murdered by a white supremacist in Jackson, Mississippi.

The Voting Rights Act: Ten Things You Should Know

Article. By Emilye Crosby and Judy Richardson. 2015.
Key points in the history of the 1965 Voting Rights Act missing from most textbooks.

Teaching Activity by Emilye Crosby

Voice of Freedom: Fannie Lou Hamer

Picture book. By Carole Boston Weatherford. Illustrated by Ekua Holmes. 2015. 45 pages.
Illustrated biography of Fannie Lou Hamer, activist for voting and economic rights from Mississippi.

Dec. 18, 1944: U.S. Supreme Court Rules Against Fred Korematsu; Declares Denial of Civil Liberties Legal

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Korematsu v. United States that the denial of civil liberties based on race and national origin was legal.

Dec. 16, 1965: Students Suspended for Anti-War Armbands

A group of students wore black armbands to school to protest the war in Vietnam. The school board got wind of the protest and passed a preemptive ban.

Count Them One by One: Black Mississippians Fighting for the Right to Vote

Book — Non-fiction. By Gordon A. Martin Jr. 2014. 272 pages.
A detailed portrait of brave individuals who risked everything in their fight for the right to vote.

How to Abolish Columbus Day and Get an Indigenous Peoples’ Day Resolution Passed

Article. By Mahtowin Munro.
Campaign guidelines from the organizer of a successful effort to abolish Columbus Day and establish Indigenous Peoples' Day in Cambridge, Mass.

When We Fight, We Win (Book) | Zinn Education Project: Teaching People's History

When We Fight We Win!: Twenty-First-Century Social Movements and the Activists That Are Transforming Our World

Book — Non-fiction. By Greg Jobin Leeds, Dey Hernandez Vazquez, and AgitArte. 2016. 208 pages.
A visually rich and inspiring book of 21st century leaders and activists distill their wisdom, sharing lessons of what makes and what hinders transformative social change.

Reconstructing the South: A Role Play

Lesson. By Bill Bigelow. 17 pages.
This role play engages students in thinking about what freedpeople needed in order to achieve — and sustain — real freedom following the Civil War. It's followed by a chapter from the book Freedom's Unfinished Revolution.

Teaching Activity by Bill Bigelow

The Reconstruction Era and the Fragility of Democracy

Teaching Guide. By Facing History and Ourselves. 2015.
A collection of lessons, videos, and primary sources to teach about Reconstruction.

A Short History of Reconstruction, Updated Edition

Book — Non-fiction. By Eric Foner. 2015. 352 pages.
A people's history view of the Reconstruction era.

Papers: Stories by Undocumented Youth

Book — Non-fiction. Edited by José Manuel, Cesar Pineda, Anne Galisky, and Rebecca Shine. Illustrated by Julio Salgado. 2012. 84 pages.
Undocumented youth from around the world tell their stories with simplicity and intimacy in this student-friendly collection.

The Era of Reconstruction, 1861-1900

Book — Non-fiction. By National Park Service. 2017. 165 pages.
A theme study on the history of the Reconstruction era.

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