Wars & Related Anti-War Movements Archives

The Great War: July 1, 1916: The First Day of the Battle of the Somme

Book — Non-fiction. By Joe Sacco. 2013. 54 pages.
Illustrated book depicting the horrific Battle of Somme, emblematic of a hideous war.

Teaching Activity by Joe Sacco

Whom Will We Honor Memorial Day?

Article. By Howard Zinn. 1976.
Essay urging readers to rethink Memorial Day, who we honor, and what resources we prioritize.

Japanese American Evacuation and Resettlement Online Archive

Digital collection. Firsthand accounts and primary sources of the incarceration of Japanese Americans during WWII.

Painting by Robert Shetterly from Americans Who Tell the Truth

July 30, 1881: Major Smedley Darlington Butler Born

Anti-war activist Major Smedley Darlington Butler was born.

Some Truths Are Not Self-Evident: Essays in The Nation on Civil Rights, Vietnam, and “The War on Terror”

Book — Non-fiction. By Howard Zinn, edited by Richard Kreitner. 2014. 215 pages.
A collection of articles spanning 50 years, by and about Howard Zinn, originally published in The Nation magazine.

June 15, 1955: Protest of Nuclear Attack Drills

When the Civil Defense Administration attempted to hold a drill simulating a nuclear attack, 27 activists in New York refused to take cover. They handed out pamphlets reading: “We will not obey this order to pretend, to evacuate, to hide... We refuse to cooperate.”

African Americans Against the Bomb: Nuclear Weapons, Colonialism, and the Black Freedom Movement

Book — Non-fiction. By Vincent Intondi. 2015. 224 pages.
History of Black activists who fought for nuclear disarmament.

Teaching Activity by Vincent Intondi

Dec. 16, 1965: Students Suspended for Anti-War Armbands

A group of students wore black armbands to school to protest the war in Vietnam. The school board got wind of the protest and passed a preemptive ban.

Catonsville Nine Website | Zinn Education Project: Teaching People's History

Catonsville Nine Files

Digital collection. Features documents, photos, and audio and video accounts about the Catonsville Nine who burned Vietnam war draft files.

Fort Hood Three Press Conference | Zinn Education Project: Teaching People's History

“We Will Not Be Part of this Unjust, Immoral, and Illegal War”: Remembering the Fort Hood Three

On June 30, 1966, dozens of people assembled in the basement auditorium of the Community Church for a big announcement. All of them gathered to hear the words of three soldiers, Privates David Samas and Dennis Mora, and Private First Class James A. Johnson. The G.I.’s convened the press conference to perform a bold act: they intended to refuse their orders to go fight.

Teaching Central America

Website. An online collection of lessons, book lists, biographies of noted historical figures, and readings for free use by classroom teachers.

Coretta Scott King (R) with Women Strike for Peace founder Dagmar Wilson, 1963 | Zinn Education Project

W. E. B. Du Bois to Coretta Scott King: The Untold History of the Movement to Ban the Bomb

By Vincent Intondi

When the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. announced his strong opposition to the war in Vietnam, the media attacked him for straying outside of his civil rights mandate. In so many words, powerful interests told him: “Mind your own business.” In fact, African American leaders have long been concerned with broad issues of peace and justice — and have especially opposed nuclear weapons. Unfortunately, this activism is left out of mainstream corporate-produced history textbooks.

Teaching Untold Stories During Asian Pacific American Heritage Month

By Moé Yonamine

“They’re Latinos . . . I think they’re some kind of farm workers.”

“No, they’re Asians with name tags.”

And then a student in a quiet voice walked by me slowly and muttered, “I think something really bad is happening to them.”

My students at Roosevelt High School in Portland, Oregon — one of the state’s most racially diverse schools — studied each black and white photo posted around the room, inspecting the background and the facial expressions; confused, anxious, frustrated. They began a journey to uncover the hidden story of the Japanese Latin American removal, internment, and deportation during World War II.

1967 Spring Mobilization against the War in Vietnam | Zinn Education Project: Teaching People's History

April 15, 1967: Massive Anti-Vietnam War Demonstrations

Amidst growing opposition to the U.S. war in Vietnam, large-scale anti-war protests were held in New York, San Francisco, and many other cities.

June 2, 1863: Harriet Tubman Frees Nearly 800 People

Harriet Tubman planned and guided a significant armed raid (becoming the first woman to do so in the Civil War) against Confederate forces, supply depots, and plantations along the Combahee River in coastal South Carolina.

Apr. 26, 1968: Kiyoshi Kuromiya Led Protest of Vietnam War Napalm

Lifelong gay rights and anti-war activist Kiyoshi Kuromiya held a demonstration while in college against the use of napalm in Vietnam by announcing that a dog would be burned alive with napalm in front of the university library.

Mothers of the Disappeared "Memorial Wall"

March 24, 1980: Archbishop Romero Assassinated

Archbishop Óscar Romero of El Salvador was assassinated by U.S.-backed death squads.

Jan. 31, 1964: WWII Veteran Louis Allen Murdered

Louis Allen, a WWII veteran who witnessed and was willing to testify about the murder of a voting rights worker in Mississippi, was murdered.

Aug. 21, 1971: Anti-war Protesters Raid Draft Offices

Twenty anti-war protesters were arrested for breaking into selective service offices and destroying draft records.

Aug. 6, 1945: The U.S. Dropped an Atomic Bomb on Hiroshima

The United States dropped an atomic bomb for the first time in war over the Japanese city of Hiroshima.

Jackie Robinson | Zinn Education Project

July 6, 1944: Lt. Jackie Robinson Refuses to Give Up Seat on Bus

While stationed at Camp Hood in Texas, Lieutenant Jackie Robinson refused to give up his seat on the bus and was court-martialed.

July 11, 1964: Lemuel Penn Killed

Athens-area Ku Klux Klan members shot and killed WWII veteran and DCPS assistant superintendent Lemuel Penn.

June 30, 1966: Fort Hood Three Release Public Statement on Vietnam Refusal

The Fort Hood Three issued a public statement about their refusal to be sent to Vietnam.

June 27, 1954: Elected Guatemalan Leader Overthrown in CIA-Backed Coup

Democratically elected Guatemalan president Jacobo Árbenz Guzmán was deposed in a CIA-sponsored coup.

Feb. 24, 1969: Tinker v. Des Moines Case Wins Free Speech Rights for Students

The Supreme Court ruled 7-2 in Tinker v. Des Moines that students do not “shed their constitutional rights to freedom of speech or expression at the schoolhouse gate.”

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