Laws & Citizen Rights Archives

Tracked in America

Digital collection. Explores the historical context and stories of individuals who have been targets of U.S. government surveillance during the 20th century.

A People’s History of the Supreme Court: The Men and Women Whose Cases and Decisions Have Shaped Our Constitution

Book — Non-fiction. By Peter Irons. Foreword by Howard Zinn. 2006. 588 pages.
A detailed and critical history of the Supreme Court.

Fred Korematsu Speaks Up (Book) | Zinn Education Project: Teaching People's History

Book — Non-fiction. By Laura Atkins and Stan Yogi. Illustrated by Yutaka Houlette. 2017. 112 pages.
Story of Fred Koretmatsu, jailed for resisting incarceration by the U.S. government during WWII. He took his case to the U.S. Supreme Court twice.

Subversives: Stories from the Red Scare

Teaching Activity. By Ursula Wolfe-Rocca.
In this mixer lesson, students meet 27 different targets of government harassment and repression to analyze why disparate individuals might have become targets of the same campaign, determining what kind of threat they posed in the view of the U.S. government.

Oct. 19, 1870: First African Americans Elected to the House of Representatives

For the first time, African Americans were elected to the House of Representatives in 1870.

July 30, 1836: Formerly Enslaved Eliza Small and Polly Ann Bates Escape to Boston

The This Day in History post below is taken from Freedom Ship: The Uncharted History …

Dec. 18, 1899: Supreme Court Ruling Permits Segregated Schooling

The Supreme Court ruled unanimously in favor of racially segregated public schools, affirming that such segregation was not in violation of the Fourteenth Amendment’s equal protection clause.

Oct. 27, 1994: U.S. Prison Population Exceeds One Million

The U.S. Justice Department announced that the prison population topped one million for the first time in U.S. history.

Oct. 29, 1969: Supreme Court Rules Schools Must Desegregate

The Supreme Court ruled that schools in the U.S. had to desegregate “immediately,” instead of the previous ruling of “with all deliberate speed.”

Unconstitutional: The War on Our Civil Liberties

Film. By Nonny de la Peña. 2004. 69 minutes.
A documentary that investigates the ways in which the civil liberties of U.S. citizens and immigrants have been rolled back since 9/11/2001 and the passage of the Patriot Act.

Fight for the Right to Read

Book — Historical non-fiction. By Jeff Gottesfeld and Michelle Y. Green, and illustrated by Kim Holt. 2025. 36 pages.
The story of Samuel Wilbert Tucker, who organized a sit-in and subsequent court cases to challenge the exclusion of African Americans from public libraries.

Women, Gays, and Other Voices of Resistance

Teaching Activity. By Jack Bareilles.
Questions and teaching ideas for Chapter 19 of Voices of a People's History of the United States on the emergence and legacy of the 1960s counterculture, as well as the movements it helped create.

July 4, 1965: First Annual Reminder Demonstration for Gay and Lesbian Rights

Gay and lesbian activists on the east coast protested in front of Independence Hall in Philadelphia to demand equitable treatment and respect.

“Riots,” Racism, and the Police: Students Explore a Century of Police Conduct and Racial Violence

Teaching Activity. By Ursula Wolfe-Rocca.
Students explore three documents produced in the wake of three major episodes of racial violence (1919, 1967, 2014) to understand the long trajectory of police violence in Black communities.

Oct. 30, 1870: Protest of Racist Policies on Streetcars in Louisville

Reconstruction era protest of racist discrimination on streetcars in Louisville, Kentucky.

Nov. 2, 1920: The Ocoee Massacre

More than fifty African Americans killed in the Ocoee Massacre after going to vote in Florida.

Nov. 10, 1898: Wilmington Massacre

The elected and interracial Reconstruction era local government was deposed in a coup d’etat in Wilmington, North Carolina.

A People’s History of Muslims in the United States (Article) | Zinn Education Project: Teaching People's History

A People’s History of Muslims in the United States: What Textbooks and the Media Miss

By Alison Kysia

When I teach history related to Islam or Muslims in the United States, I begin by asking students what names they associate with these terms. The list is consistent year after year: Malcolm X, Elijah Muhammad, and Muhammad Ali.

All of these individuals have affected U.S. history in significant ways. If we take a step back and look at the messages these figures communicate about Muslims in U.S. history, we see a story dominated by men and by the Nation of Islam. Although important, focusing solely on these stories leaves us with a skewed view of Muslims in U.S. history. Even these examples are a stretch. Most of my students reference 9/11 as the first time they heard of Muslims.

March 7, 1965: Bloody Sunday

To protest the police murder of Jimmie Lee Jackson and for voting rights, more than 600 people began a peaceful march from Selma to Montgomery.

Oct. 8, 1965: Enforcement of Civil Rights Act Curtailed in Chicago Schools

Federal funds were quickly restored to Chicago public schools after they were withheld for continued segregation in schools, effectively curtailing enforcement of the Civil Rights Act in Chicago.

Nov. 20, 1953: 32 Philadelphia Teachers Suspended During Red Scare

At the height of McCarthyism, the School District of Philadelphia suspended 32 teachers for their alleged connections to the Communist Party.

Nov. 3, 1964: D.C. Residents Voted in Presidential Election for First Time

Following the 23rd Amendment, in 1964, Washington, D.C. residents voted in a presidential election for the first time since 1800.

Feb. 28, 1803: First Anti-Immigration Law Targets Black People

“An Act to Prevent the Importation of Certain Persons into Certain States” was passed into law in 1803.

A Peoples History of the United States Book | Zinn Education Project

A People’s History of the United States: 1492 – Present

Book — Non-fiction. By Howard Zinn. 2005, with a new introduction by Anthony Arnove in 2015. 784 pages.
Howard Zinn's groundbreaking work on U.S. history. This book details lives and facts rarely included in textbooks—an indispensable teacher and student resource.

Lawrence Textile Strike Acquittal | ZInn Education Project

Nov. 26, 1912: Lawrence Textile Strike Acquittal

Joseph James Ettor, Arturo Giovannitti, and Joseph Caruso were acquitted after one of the most important labor trials.

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