May 3, 1898: Septima Clark Born
Educator and civil rights organizer Septima Clark was born in South Carolina.
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Theme: Education
Education
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.
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May 27, 1958: Ernest Green Graduates from Little Rock
Ernest Green became the first African-American to graduate from Little Rock Central High School in 1958.
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June 5, 1950: The Supreme Court and School Segregation Cases
The Supreme Court ruled in favor of the plaintiffs in three cases that weakened the structure of legalized segregation.
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June 11, 1965: Chicago School Boycott
More than 100,000 students stayed out of school to protest inequality and segregation in Chicago, Illinois.
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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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Howard Zinn’s Southern Diary Published
The University of Georgia Press published Howard Zinn's Southern Diary: Sit-Ins, Civil Rights, and Black Women's Student Activism by Robert Cohen in September of 2018.
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Oct. 22, 1955: John Earl Reese Murdered
In an effort to stop the implementation of Brown v. Board through terrorism, 16-yr-old John Earl Reese was killed in Mayflower, Texas.
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Oct. 25, 1958: Youth March for Integrated Schools
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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Jan. 5, 1931: Lemon Grove Incident
Mexican-American students were barred from attending their local elementary school. The parents took the school district to court.
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April 14, 1947: Mendez, et al. v. Westminster Ruling
When Gonzalo and Felicitas Mendez, two California farmers, sent their children to a local school, their children were told that they would have to go to a separate facility reserved for Mexican American students.
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Feb. 15, 1848: Benjamin Roberts Filed the First School Desegregation Suit
Benjamin Roberts, African American, filed the first school desegregation suit after his daughter Sarah was barred from a public school because of her race in Boston, Massachusetts.
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Feb. 18, 1946: Courts Ruled in Favor of the Mendez Family
The courts ruled in favor of the Mendez family and their co-plaintiffs in California, finding segregated schools to be unconstitutional.
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Someday Is Now: Clara Luper and the 1958 Oklahoma City Sit-Ins
Picture book. By Olugbemisola Rhuday-Perkovich. Illustrated by Jade Johnson. 2018. 32 pages.
The true story of a teacher who led her students to take direct non-violent action to protest segregation.
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The true story of a teacher who led her students to take direct non-violent action to protest segregation.
Feb. 3, 1964: New York City School Children Boycott School
More than 450,000 New York City school children boycotted school as part of a protest for quality schools for Black and Latino students.
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The New Teacher Book: Finding Purpose, Balance, and Hope During Your First Years in the Classroom
Teaching Guide. Edited By Linda Christensen, Stan Karp, Bob Peterson, Moé Yonamine. Rethinking Schools. 2019. 376 pages.
Offers practical guidance on how to flourish in schools and classrooms and connect in meaningful ways with students and families from all cultures and backgrounds.
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Offers practical guidance on how to flourish in schools and classrooms and connect in meaningful ways with students and families from all cultures and backgrounds.
Midnight Teacher: Lilly Ann Granderson and Her Secret School
Picture book. By Janet Halfmann. Illustrated by London Ladd. 2018. 40 pages.
Tells the story of Lilly Ann Granderson, an enslaved woman who taught hundreds of people in Kentucky and Mississippi to read.
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Tells the story of Lilly Ann Granderson, an enslaved woman who taught hundreds of people in Kentucky and Mississippi to read.
Our House Is on Fire — Time to Teach Climate Justice
Article. By Bill Bigelow. Rethinking Schools, Spring 2019.
For too long, the fossil fuel industry has tried to buy teachers’ and students’ silence. But teaching climate justice has never been more urgent.
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For too long, the fossil fuel industry has tried to buy teachers’ and students’ silence. But teaching climate justice has never been more urgent.
April 1, 1965: Blackwell v. Issaquena Board of Education
The civil rights suit of Blackwell v. Issaquena Board of Education was filed on behalf of 300 African-American students from several schools across Issaquena County in Mississippi who had been suspended for wearing and distributing “freedom” buttons.
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Carter Reads the Newspaper
Picture book. By Deborah Hopkinson. Illustrated by Don Tate. 2019. 36 pages.
This picture book chronicles the young life of Dr. Carter G. Woodson, an Appalachian-born Harvard scholar and advocate for African American history. He founded Negro History Week in 1926 (which grew into Black History Month), the Association for the Study of African American Life and History (ASALH), and the Journal of Negro History.
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This picture book chronicles the young life of Dr. Carter G. Woodson, an Appalachian-born Harvard scholar and advocate for African American history. He founded Negro History Week in 1926 (which grew into Black History Month), the Association for the Study of African American Life and History (ASALH), and the Journal of Negro History.
The Green New Deal and Our Schools
Article. By the Rethinking Schools Editorial Board. Rethinking Schools, Summer 2019.
The Green New Deal will only be brought to life by people who grasp the enormity of the crisis that humanity faces and the radical changes necessary to address it. This requires that we teach a climate justice curriculum.
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The Green New Deal will only be brought to life by people who grasp the enormity of the crisis that humanity faces and the radical changes necessary to address it. This requires that we teach a climate justice curriculum.
Freedom Libraries: The Untold Story of Libraries for African Americans in the South
Book — Non-fiction. By Mike Selby. 2019. 208 pages.
This book reveals the histories of grassroots "freedom libraries" that were at the heart of the Civil Rights Movement in the Deep South and tells the stories of courageous people who operated and used them.
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This book reveals the histories of grassroots "freedom libraries" that were at the heart of the Civil Rights Movement in the Deep South and tells the stories of courageous people who operated and used them.
Ghosts in the Schoolyard: Racism and School Closings on Chicago’s South Side
Book — Non-fiction. By Eve Ewing. 2018. 240 pages.
This book flips the script about how we talk about "failing schools," using historical research and current data to show that Chicago's public schools are storehouses of memory, an integral part of their neighborhoods, and at the heart of their communities.
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This book flips the script about how we talk about "failing schools," using historical research and current data to show that Chicago's public schools are storehouses of memory, an integral part of their neighborhoods, and at the heart of their communities.
On September 20th, If Our Students are Not in the Streets, Let’s Bring the Streets to Our Students
Article. By Ursula Wolfe-Rocca. Rethinking Schools Blog, September 2019.
A call to action for teachers to join students, whether in the streets or in classrooms, by using their voices for climate justice.
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A call to action for teachers to join students, whether in the streets or in classrooms, by using their voices for climate justice.