Organizing Archives

book cover showing freedom riders protesting near a bus

A Young People’s History of the United States: Revised and Updated

Book — Non-fiction. By Howard Zinn, adapted by Rebecca Stefoff with additions by Ed Morales. 2022. 544 pages.
A young adult version of the best-selling A People’s History of the United States, ideal for 6th through 9th grade students.

April 20, 1914: Ludlow Massacre

The National Guard fired on striking miners and their families in Ludlow, Colorado.

How to Make Amends: A Lesson on Reparations

Teaching Activity. By Ursula Wolfe-Rocca, Alex Stegner, Chris Buehler, Angela DiPasquale, and Tom McKenna.
Students meet dozens of advocates and recipients of reparations from a variety of historical eras to grapple with the possibility of reparations now and in the future.

April 12, 1787: Free African Society Founded

The Free African Society was a benevolent organization grounded in Christian religious faith and operating outside denominational differences to serve the social needs of Black Philadelphians.

Intimate Politics: How I Grew Up Red, Fought for Free Speech, and Became a Feminist Rebel

Book — Non-fiction. By Bettina Aptheker. 2006. 375 pages.
An uncompromising account of one woman’s personal and political transformation, and a fascinating portrayal of the McCarthy trials, the Vietnam War, and the rise of the women’s movement.

May 15, 1956: Elloree 21 Refuse to Sign Anti-NAACP Teacher Oath

Twenty-one teachers at the Elloree Training School were fired when they refused to sign an oath denying membership in the NAACP.

Aug. 29, 1968: Prisoner-led Uprising at Long Binh Jail in Vietnam

In 1968, soldiers incarcerated at the Long Binh Jail in South Vietnam rioted, destroying much of the stockade, injuring dozens, and killing one.

July 14, 1970: Young Lords Occupy Lincoln Hospital

The Young Lords occupied Lincoln Hospital’s major administrative building in response to deplorable treatment of people of color.

Sir! No Sir!

Film. By David Zeiger. 2005. 84 minutes.
This award-winning film demonstrates the role soldiers and veterans played in the anti-Vietnam War movement.

collage of six Black abolitionists in the United States.

‘If There Is No Struggle…’: Teaching a People’s History of the Abolition Movement

Teaching Activity. By Bill Bigelow. Rethinking Schools. 16 pages.
In this lesson, students explore many of the real challenges faced by abolitionists with a focus on the American Anti-Slavery Society.

Teaching Activity by Bill Bigelow

The Knotted Line

Website. Interactive timeline that connects moments in history related to the prison industrial complex.

May 1: International Workers Day

International Workers’ Day began as a commemoration of the 1886 Haymarket massacre in Chicago.

June 28, 1969: Stonewall Riots

Police arrived at the Stonewall Inn and arrested anyone found to be cross-dressing, resulting in mayhem and what are now referred to as the Stonewall Riots. This was a milestone in a long history of LGBTQ+ activism.

What We Don’t Learn About the Black Panther Party — but Should

Teaching Activity. By Adam Sanchez and Jesse Hagopian. Rethinking Schools. 33 pages.
A mixer lesson introduces students to the pivotal history of the Black Panthers.

April 28, 1977: Disability Rights Sit-Ins Force Enactment of Section 504

Between April 5 and April 28, 1977, hundreds of disabled and handicapped activists organized, protested, and occupied government buildings around the country to pressure the U.S. Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare, Joseph Califano, to enact Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and publish regulations to guide its enforcement.

Cured

Film. Directed by Patrick Sammon and Bennett Singer. 2020. 82 min. and 35 min. versions
The award-winning PBS documentary Cured chronicles a pivotal moment in LGBTQ+ history: the early 1970s campaign to remove the diagnosis of homosexuality from the American Psychiatric Association’s manual of mental disorders.