Organizing Archives

Organizing Against Racial and Sexual Violence: Rosa Parks’ Life-Long Pursuit of Justice

Teaching Activity. By Say Burgin, Jeanne Theoharis, and Ursula Wolfe-Rocca. 7 pages.
In this activity, students investigate Rosa Parks’ activism — and the gender and racial injustice to which it was a response — before and after her famous bus refusal.

Protest of the proposed Byhalia Connection Pipeline.

July 2, 2021: Opposition Prevents Byhalia Pipeline Construction

Due to overwhelming opposition from activists and community members, construction of the Byhalia Connection oil pipeline in greater Memphis, Tennessee was canceled by its developers, Plains All American Pipeline.

March 8, 1971: Griggs v. Duke Power Co. Court Ruling

In 1966, 14 Black employees filed a complaint with the EEOC claiming that they were discriminated against in hiring and promotion at a power plant in North Carolina. Five years later, the Supreme Court delivered its landmark unanimous ruling prohibiting discriminatory practices by employers.

During the 1953 bus boycott in Baton Rouge, the African American community organized free carpools, enabling protestors to go about their daily business while simultaneously showing they would no longer accept second-class citizenship.

June 18, 1953: Baton Rouge Bus Boycott Begins

Black leaders in Baton Rouge, Louisiana formed the United Defense League (UDL) to protest bus segregation and persuaded thousands of Black residents to boycott buses until an agreed upon compromise was met.

Sept. 1, 1946: Hawaiian Sugar Plantation Workers Stage Mass Strike

Led by the International Longshoremen’s and Warehousemen’s Union (ILWU), sugar workers on 33 of Hawai’i’s 34 plantations went on strike, which lasted almost three months and led to substantial improvements in pay, housing, and working conditions.

March 15, 2019: Worldwide School Strikes for Climate Justice

Young climate activists and students across the world organized school strikes for climate justice, culminating in worldwide strikes on March 15, 2019, demanding concrete plans to slash CO2 emissions.

Sept. 21, 2014: The People’s Climate March

Hundreds of thousands of people across 150 countries participated in protests on Sunday, September 21, 2014, collectively called “the People’s Climate March.”

book cover showing women protesting during the March on Washington.

More Than a Dream: The Radical March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom

Book — Non-fiction. By Yohuru Williams and Michael G. Long. 2023. 272 pages.
A look at the March on Washington through a wider lens, using Black newspaper reports as a primary resource, recognizing the overlooked work of socialist organizers and Black women protesters, and repositioning this momentous day as radical in its roots, methods, demands, and results.

Protestors at the Fridays 4 Future protest inside COP 25 in 2019 holding a sign reading "Indigenous Justice is Climate Justice."

April 24, 2009: Indigenous Peoples’ Global Summit

Indigenous representatives from around the world met in Anchorage, Alaska, in April 2009, to share experiences and strategies for confronting environmental degradation. They issued a declaration that details their observations and demands from the front lines of the climate crisis.

May 13, 2011: Scholastic Inc. Withdraws Coal Pamphlet

Amid overwhelming criticism that Scholastic Inc. was lying to students about the benefits of coal use, the education publisher cut ties with the coal industry.

A sepia photograph of seven members of the Gainesville 8 and their attorneys.

Aug. 31, 1973: Gainesville 8 Acquitted

Members of the Vietnam Veterans Against the War (VVAW) were arrested and erroneously charged with inciting violence at the 1972 Republican National Convention in Miami. They were all later acquitted after a lengthy and much publicized trial.

July 4, 1940: Black World’s Fair Held in Chicago

To celebrate the 75th anniversary of the ending of slavery in the United States, the Black World’s Fair, also known as the American Negro Exposition, was held at the Chicago Coliseum from July through September 1940.

People protesting the banning of books at public schools and libraries, with one person holding a sign reading "I read banned books."

Jan. 4, 1977: Students Successfully Sue School Board Over Book Bans

Fed up with books being banned by the school administration, students at Island Trees High School in Long Island, New York sued the school board for this unconstitutional censorship in a case that went all the way up to the Supreme Court.

Beautiful Trouble Toolbox

Teaching Guide. A collection of strategic tools and training opportunities for movement organizers.

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.