Laws & Citizen Rights Archives

The Heroes We Need Today: Teaching About the Radical Ida B. Wells

Teaching Activity. By Matt Reed. Published by Rethinking Schools. 2023.
This mixer activity helps students uncover the radical legacy of Ida B. Wells.

Pauli Murray: The Life of a Pioneering Feminist and Civil Rights Activist

Book — Non-fiction. By Terry Catasús Jennings and Rosita Stevens-Holsey, illustrated by Ashanti Fortson. 2022. 288 pages.
A biography of Pauli Murray, a queer civil rights and women’s rights activist who fought in the trenches for many of the rights we now take for granted.

La historia del pueblo de Estados Unidos para jóvenes

Book — Non-fiction. By Howard Zinn, adapted by Rebecca Stefoff with additions by Ed Morales. Translated by Hugo García Manríquez. 2023. 608 pages.
A Spanish translation of the young adult version of the best-selling A People’s History of the United States.

Aug. 24, 1955: Old Fort School Desegregation Struggle

One Sunday in September of 1950, dozens of African American children marching down the main street of Old Fort carrying signs saying, “We Want Our School Back” and “What Happened to Our School.”

Dec. 8, 1936: Gibbs v. Broome Leads to Pay Equity for Black Teachers

In an attempt to gain pay equity for Black teachers in Maryland, William B. Gibbs Jr. became the lead plaintiff in the NAACP’s case for pay equity in Montgomery County, a case known as Gibbs v. Broome.

Parade in San Francisco for the first national Martin Luther King Jr. Day in 1986.

Jan. 20, 1986: First National Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday

The United States celebrated its first national Martin Luther King Jr. holiday, three years after the holiday was signed into law and eighteen years after the fight for a King holiday began.

Feb. 27, 1960: McKenney Library Sit-in

In attempt to end segregation at the William R. McKenney Central Library in Petersburg, Virginia, a group of African American students held a sit-in.

March 1, 1784: Rhode Island Passes Gradual Emancipation Act

While the state of Rhode Island legally abolished slavery in 1652, it wasn’t until 1784 — after mounting public pressure to do away with the enslavement of other human beings once and for all — that the state passed the Gradual Emancipation Act.

Mamie Tape Fights to Go to School: Based on a True Story

Picture book. Written by Traci Huahn and illustrated by Michelle Jing Chan. 2024. 40 pages.
This picture book tells the true story of a fight for access to public education by an 8-year-old Chinese-American girl, Mamie Tape, and her parents.

Cured

Film. Directed by Patrick Sammon and Bennett Singer. 2020. 82 minutes (or 37 minute classroom version).
This documentary focuses on the successful campaign to remove the diagnosis of homosexuality from the APA manual of mental illnesses, an important yet mainly overlooked part of the struggle for LGBTQ rights.

Into the Weeds

Film. Directed by Jennifer Baichwal. 2022. 96 minutes.
Focusing on one man’s lawsuit against Monsanto, this documentary exposes how Roundup weed killers are toxic not just for weeds — but also people.

Oct. 17, 1868: Abraham Galloway Elected as North Carolina Senator

During his 33 years, Abraham Galloway accomplished more than most. An abolitionist, a freedom fighter, a spy, a politician, Galloway rose to prominence during the Civil War and Reconstruction, leaving a legacy of Black leadership and resistance to white supremacy and white violence.