Adult
Teaching Activity PDFs
Columbus and Las Casas
Teaching Activity PDF. By Gayle Olson-Raymer. 15 pages.
Questions and teaching ideas for Chapter 1 of Voices of a People’s History of the United States on Columbus’ arrival in the “New World,” and the contrasting accounts of Bartolome de Las Casas and Eduardo Galeano.
Re-examining the Revolution
Background Reading PDF. By Ray Raphael. 7 pages.
Based on his book Founding Myths, Raphael critiques the textbook portrayal of the American Revolution. The textbooks say that “a few special people forged American freedom” which “misrepresents, and even contradicts, the spirit of the American Revolution.”
Why Students Should Study History: An Interview with Howard Zinn
Background Reading for Teachers PDF. By Howard Zinn. 1994.
Interview conducted by Barbara Miner on a number of questions about the study of history.
‘If There Is No Struggle…’: Teaching a People’s History of the Abolition Movement
Teaching Activity. By Bill Bigelow. 16 pages.
A role play putting students in the position of abolitionist groups working together to end slavery.
African American, Civil Rights Movements, Democracy & Citizenship, Laws & Citizen Rights, Organizing, Racism & Racial Identity, Slavery
Teaching Guides
Beyond Heroes and Holidays
Teaching Guide. Edited by Enid Lee, Deborah Menkart and Margo Okazawa-Rey. 2006. 436 pages.
Guide for teachers, administrators, and parents shows how teach from a multicultural perspective that goes beyond the superficial “heroes and holidays” approach.
Beyond Tolerance: A Resource Guide for Addressing LGTBQI Issues in Schools
Teaching Guide. Published by New York Collective of Radical Educators. 35 pages.
A curricular resource guide on Lesbian, Gay, Transgender, Bisexual, Questioning, and Intersex (LGBTQI) for educators.
BRIDGE: Popular Education Resources for Immigrant and Refugee Community Organizers
Teaching Guide. By The National Network for Immigrant and Refugee Rights. 2004. 320 pages.
Lessons on immigration, labor, and organizing for high school and adult education.
New York and Slavery: Time to Teach the Truth
Teaching Guide. By Alan J. Singer. 2008. 178 pages.
Narrative description of slavery in the north and strategies for engaging young people as historians on the topic.
On Coal River
Film and Teaching Guide. Directed by Francine Cavanaugh and Adams Wood. 2010. 81 minutes.
This free film takes viewers on a gripping emotional journey into a community surrounded by a looming toxic threat. The film follows a former coal miner and his neighbors in a struggle for the future of their valley and the planet.
Democracy & Citizenship, Economics, Environment & Food, Social Class
Planning to Change the World: A Plan Book for Social Justice Teachers 2012-2013
Teaching guide. Edited by Tara Mack and Bree Picower. 2012. 160 pages.
Plan book designed to help teachers translate their vision of a just education into concrete classroom activities.
The Promise: Brown v. Board of Education, The Civil Rights Movement, and Our Schools
Teaching Guide. Edited by Rethinking Schools. 2004.
Analysis and teaching ideas on school desegregation.
Rethinking Our Classrooms: Teaching for Equity and Justice (Volume 1)
Teaching Guide. By Wayne Au, Bill Bigelow and Stan Karp. 2007. 240 pages.
Rethinking Schools: An Agenda For Change
Teaching Guide. Edited by David Levine, Robert Lowe, Robert Peterson, and Rita Tenorio. 1995. 304 pages.
Essays and resource lists by distinguished reformers and educators.
Tackling LGBT Issues in School: A Resource Module
Teaching Guide. Edited by Leif Mitchell and Meredith Startz. 2007. 125 pages.
Teaching About Asian Pacific Americans: Effective Activities, Strategies, and Assignments for Classrooms and Communities
Teaching Guide. Edited by Edith Wen-Chu Chen and Glenn Omatsu. 2006. 350 pages.
Comprehensive collection of articles and lessons on Asian Pacific American history.
Teaching Economics As If People Mattered: A Curriculum Guide to Today’s Economy
Teaching Guide. By Tamara Sober Giecek. 2007. 182 pages.
Economics curriculum for high school with lessons on the human implications of economic policies.
Articles
Howard Zinn: Interview by Bill Moyers
Article. Interview of Howard Zinn by Bill Moyers. 2009. 11 pages. From book published by The New Press.
Howard Zinn on The People Speak and a range of topics in U.S. history and contemporary issues.
On the Road to Cultural Bias: A Critique of The Oregon Trail
Article for Educators in PDF. By Bill Bigelow. 13 pages.
Critque of the popular Oregon Trail computer game.
The Politics of Children’s Literature: What’s Wrong with the Rosa Parks Myth
Aritcle. By Herbert Kohl. 6 pages.
A critical analysis that challenges the myths in children’s books about Rosa Parks and the Montgomery Bus Boycott.
African American, Civil Rights Movements, Education, Women's History
Scholastic Inc. – Pushing Coal: A 4th-grade curriculum lies through omission
Article. By Bill Bigelow. Rethinking Schools, Volume 25 – Issue 4, Summer 2011.
The Truth About Helen Keller
Article for Teachers and High School Students – PDF. By Ruth Shagoury. 6 pages.
A review of children’s picture books about the life of Helen Keller reveals the omission of any description of her active role in key social movements of the 20th century.
Whitewashing Our Past: A Proposal for a National Campaign to Rethink Textbooks
Article. By Bob Peterson. 4 pages.
A critique of social studies textbooks and the rationale for a campaign to rethink them.
Audio
Death in the Haymarket
Audio. March 30, 2006.
A lecture by Howard Zinn and James Green on the Haymarket tragedy.
Books: Fiction
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian
Book – Fiction. By Sherman Alexie. 2007. 288 pages.
Coming-of-age-tale set on Spokane Indian Reservation.
A Moment in the Sun
Book – Fiction. By John Sayles. 2011. 968 pages.
Spanning five years and half a dozen countries, Sayles’ novel paints a picture of the late 1890s — from the racist coup in Wilmington, North Carolina, to the bloody dawn of U.S. interventionism in Cuba and the Philippines.
Books: Non-Fiction
News for All the People: The Epic Story of Race and the American Media
Book – Non-fiction. By Juan González, and Joseph Torres. 256 pages. 2011.
The history of media in the United States, through the lens of race.
The Admirable Radical: Staughton Lynd and Cold War Dissent, 1945–1970
Book – Non-Fiction. By Carl Mirra. 2010. 240 pages.
Individuals in US History, Wars & Related Anti-War Movements
African Americans and the Haitian Revolution: Selected Essays and Historical Documents
Book – Non-fiction. Edited by Maurice Jackson and Jacqueline Bacon. 2009. 259 pages.
This anthology connects the experience of African Americans and the Haitian revolution.
Artists in Times of War
Book – Nonfiction. By Howard Zinn. 2004. 112 pages.
In this collection of four essays, Zinn writes about the unique role of artists, activists, and publishers in working toward change.
The Assassination of Fred Hampton: How the FBI and Chicago Police Murdered a Black Panther
Book – Non-fiction. By Jeffrey Haas. 2009. 424 pages.
The life and murder of Fred Hampton as told by Jeffrey Hass, co-founder of the People’s Law Office and attorney for the plaintiffs in the federal suit Hampton v. Hanrahan.
Civil Rights Movements, Individuals in US History, Laws & Citizen Rights
At the Dark End of the Street: Black Women, Rape, and Resistance — a New History of the Civil Rights Movement from Rosa Parks to the Rise of Black Power
Book – Non-fiction. By Danielle L. McGuire. 2010. 352 pages.
History of the violence against African-American women during the 20th century and the role played by Rosa Parks in the organized legal response to that abuse.
Civil Rights Movements, Racism & Racial Identity, Women's History
Beyond the Fields: Cesar Chavez, the UFW, and the Struggle for Justice in the 21st Century
Book – Non-fiction. By Randy Shaw. 2010. 347 pages.
The impact of the UFW on organizing and labor today.
Bill Moyers Journal: The Conversation Continues
Book – Non-fiction. By Bill Moyers and edited by Michael Winship. 2011. 608 pages.
Fifty interviews with political figures, writers, activists, poets, and scholars.
The Black History of the White House
Book – Non-fiction. By Clarence Lusane. 2010. 544 pages.
The untold story of African Americans in the White House from the 18th century to the present, including the presidents who held people in bondage.
Blackboard Unions: The AFT and the NEA, 1900-1980
Book – Non-fiction. By Marjorie Murphy. 1992. 304 pages.
The history of unionization of teachers.
Bread & Roses: Mills, Migrants, and the Struggle for the American Dream
Book – Non-fiction. By Bruce Watson. 2006. 352 pages.
The riveting story of one of the most remarkable strikes in U.S. history.
Immigration, Labor, Laws & Citizen Rights, Organizing, Social Class, Women's History
The Butterfly’s Way: Voices from the Haitian Dyaspora in the United States
Book – Non-fiction. Edited by Edwidge Danticat. 2001. 280 pages.
Thirty-three essays and poems describing the Haitian Émigré experience.
Civil Rights History from the Ground Up: Local Struggles, a National Movement
Book – Non-fiction. Edited by Emilye Crosby. 2011. 486 pages.
A grassroots history of the Civil Rights Movement.
Climbin’ Jacob’s Ladder
Book – Non-Fiction. By Jack O’Dell. Edited and introduction by Nikhil Pal Singh. 2010. 334 pages.
Essays and background on Jack O’Dell, one of the great intellectuals of the 20th century labor movement and Civil Rights Movement who continues to provide keen analysis in the 21st century.
Colonialism in Asia: A Critical Look
Book – Non-fiction. By Susan Gage. 1993. 52 pages.
Comic book tackles the history of colonialism in India, the Philippines and Vietnam.
Dangerous Memories: Invasion and Resistance Since 1492
Book – Nonfiction. By Golden, McConnell, Poppen, and Mue. 1991. 272 pages.
Essential text on U.S. history; includes many primary sources on people’s movements.
Death in the Haymarket: A Story of Chicago, the First Labor Movement and the Bombing that Divided Gilded Age America
Book – Non-fiction. By James Green. 2007. 400 pages.
History of the late 19th century labor movement.
Debating the Civil Rights Movement, 1945-1968
Book – Non-fiction. By Stephen Lawson and Charles Payne. 2006. 227 pages.
Introduces and examines the complex story of the modern Civil Rights Movement as it should be taught, providing key background information and analysis for teachers.
African American, Civil Rights Movements, Democracy & Citizenship, Laws & Citizen Rights, Racism & Racial Identity
A Different Mirror: A History of Multicultural America
Book – Non-fiction. By Ronald Takaki. 2008. 560 pages.
A multicultural history of America, in the voices of Native Americans, African Americans, Jews, Irish Americans, Asian Americans, Latinos and others.
African American, Asian American, Immigration, Labor, Latino, Native American, Pacific Islander, Social Class
Eaarth: Making a Life on a Tough New Planet
Book – Non-fiction. By Bill McKibben. 288 pages. 2011.
A guide to living on and healing a fundamentally altered planet.
Firebrands: Portraits from the Americas
Book – Non-fiction. By Shaun Slifer and Bec Young. 2010. 192 pages.
Images and short bios of 78 activists from throughout U.S. history and the Americas for middle school to adult.
The First American Revolution: Before Lexington and Concord
Book – Non-fiction. By Ray Raphael. 2003. 288 pages.
The events leading up to the American Revolution.
Democracy & Citizenship, Laws & Citizen Rights, Wars & Related Anti-War Movements
Following the Threads: Bringing Inquiry Research into the Classroom
Book – Non-fiction. By Doug Selwyn. 2010. 232 pages.
Exploration of how inquiry and effective pedagogy connect learners with the world around them.
Freedom Summer
Book – Non-fiction. By Bruce Watson. 2010. 384 pages.
A history of Freedom Summer, the pivotal period of the Civil Rights Movement in 1964 Mississippi.
Freedom’s Teacher: The Life of Septima Clark
Book – Non-fiction. By Katherine Mellen Charron. 2009. 480 pages.
Biography of Septima Clark who played a major role in the Civil Rights Movement through education.
African American, Civil Rights Movements, Education, Women's History
From Here To There: The Staughton Lynd Reader
Book – Nonfiction. By Staughton Lynd, Edited with an Introduction by Andrej Grubacic. 2010. 320 pages.
From the Folks Who Brought You the Weekend: A Short, Illustrated History of Labor in the United States
Book – Non-fiction. By Priscilla Murolo and A. B. Chitty. Illustrations by Joe Sacco. 2002. 384 pages.
Labor history of the United States.
Harvest of Empire: A History of Latinos in America
Book – Non-fiction. By Juan Gonzalez. 2011. 416 pages.
An updated and thorough account of the role the United States in the mass migration of Latinos to the U.S.
Immigration, Latino, Laws & Citizen Rights, World History/Global Studies
The Historic Unfulfilled Promise
Book – Non-fiction. By Howard Zinn. 2012. 184 pages.
Compilation of articles Zinn penned for The Progressive magazine from 1980 to 2009.
Democracy & Citizenship, Laws & Citizen Rights, US Foreign Policy, Wars & Related Anti-War Movements
History in the Making: An Absorbing Look at How American History Has Changed in the Telling over the Last 200 Years
Book – Non-fiction. By Kyle Ward. 2007. 374 pages.
From the widely acclaimed co-author of History Lessons comes an examination of ways in which Americans tell the history their country has changed over time.
History Lessons: How Textbooks from Around the World Portray U.S. History
Book – Non-fiction. By Dana Lindaman and Kyle Ward. 2004. 404 pages.
Hope and History: Why We Must Share the Story of the Movement
Book – Non-fiction. By Vincent Harding. 2010 (2nd Edition). 240 pages.
A call to educators, clergy, and community activists to remember and keep alive the story of the black-led freedom movement.
Howard Zinn on Democratic Education
Book – Non-fiction. By Howard Zinn with Donaldo Macedo. 2008. 224 pages.
Essays by Howard Zinn about education and politics.
Howard Zinn on Race
Book – Non-fiction. 2011. By Howard Zinn. Introduction by Cornel West. 192 pages. Includes some never before published writings, speeches and interviews that illustrate the evolution and fundamental prinicples around the story of race in the United States.
African American, Democracy & Citizenship, Racism & Racial Identity
Howard Zinn on War
Book – Non-fiction. By Howard Zinn. Introduction by Marilyn B. Young. 2011. 272 pages.
Essays spanning 1962 to 2006 that examine specific wars, wartime incidents, and the force of non-violence to move beyond war, if we are to survive.
Howard Zinn: A Life on the Left
Book – Non-fiction. By Martin Duberman. 2012. 384 pages.
A biography of Howard Zinn.
Howard Zinn: A Radical American Vision
Book – Non-Fiction. By Davis D. Joyce. Foreword by Noam Chomsky. 2003. 268 pages.
Biography of Howard Zinn.
A Hubert Harrison Reader
Book – Nonfiction. Edited by Jeffrey B. Perry. 2001. 505 pages.
Essays by the “father of Harlem radicalism”.
Hubert Harrison: The Voice of Harlem Radicalism, 1883-1918
Book – Nonfiction. By Jeffrey B. Perry. 2009. 624 pages.
Biography of scholar and activist Hubert Harrison.
I Must Resist: Bayard Rustin’s Life in Letters
Book – Non-fiction. Edited by Michael G. Long. By Bayard Rustin. Foreword by Julian Bond. 2012. 276 pages.
The story of the behind-the-scenes strategist, organizer, and advocate of non-violence, Bayard Rustin.
African American, Civil Rights Movements, LGBT, Organizing, Racism & Racial Identity
I’ve Got the Light of Freedom: The Organizing Tradition and the Mississippi Freedom Struggle
Book – Non-fiction. By Charles M. Payne. 1995. 506 pages.
The people’s history of the Civil Rights Movement in Mississippi.
African American, Civil Rights Movements, Democracy & Citizenship, Organizing
The Indispensable Zinn: The Essential Writings of the “People’s Historian”
Book – Non-fiction. Edited by Timothy Patrick McCarthy. 2012. 496 pages.
A concise and accessible volume of the seminal writings of Howard Zinn.
The John Carlos Story: The Sports Moment That Changed the World
Book – Non-fiction. By John Carlos and Dave Zirin. Foreword by Cornel West. 2011. 220 pages.
Written for grades 7+, this biography of John Carlos recounts his childhood, his legendary act of courage at the ’68 Olympics, and the backlash.
African American, Civil Rights Movements, Democracy & Citizenship, Racism & Racial Identity, Sports
Keeping the Promise?: The Debate Over Charter Schools
Book-Nonfiction. Edited by Leigh Dingerson, Barbara Miner, Bob Peterson, and Stephanie Walters. 2008. 144 pages.
LaGuardia In Congress
Book – Non-Fiction. By Howard Zinn. 2010. 302 pages.
The life and career of New Deal era New York politician Fiorello LaGuardia.
Lies My Teacher Told Me: Everything Your American History Textbook Got Wrong
Book – Non-fiction. By James W. Loewen. 2007. 464 pages.
Provides a detailed survey of twelve leading high school history textbooks.
Civil Rights Movements, Democracy & Citizenship, Racism & Racial Identity, Slavery, US Foreign Policy
Local People: The Struggle for Civil Rights in Mississippi
Book – Non-fiction. By John Dittmer. 1995. 560 pages.
A detailed, grassroots description of the Civil Rights Movement in Mississippi.
Malcolm X: A Life of Reinvention
Book – Non-fiction. By Manning Marable. 2011. 608 pages.
A biographical account of Malcolm X.
African American, Civil Rights Movements, Racism & Racial Identity
Many Minds, One Heart: SNCC’s Dream for a New America
Book – Non-fiction. By Wesley C. Hogan. 2009. 463 pages.
An innovative study of what the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) accomplished and, more importantly, how it fostered significant social change in such a short time.
Mendez v. Westminster: School Desegregation and Mexican-American Rights
Book – Non-fiction. By Philippa Strum. 2010. 186 pages.
Description of a pre-Brown v. Board desegregation court case involving Mexican-American families.
Mirror to America: The Autobiography of John Hope Franklin
Book – Nonfiction. By John Hope Franklin. 2006. 416 pages.
Autobiography of one of the leading historians of the 20th century.
Muhammad Ali Handbook
Book – Non-fiction. By Dave Zirin. 2007. 431 pages.
A journey through Muhammad Ali’s sports, religious, and political journey including his involvement in anti-Vietnam war protest and the Civil Rights Movement.
The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness
Book – Non-Fiction. By Michelle Alexander. 2010. 290 pages.
A critical analysis of the role the justice system plays in the oppression of African Americans in the United States.
African American, Laws & Citizen Rights, Racism & Racial Identity
Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America
Book – Non-fiction. By Barbara Ehrenreich. 2008. 256 pages.
Undercover journalism exposing hard realities of life for the working poor.
Not Written in Stone: Learning and Unlearning American History Through 200 Years of Textbooks
Book – Non-fiction. By Kyle Ward. 2010. 368 pages.
A critique of the representation of history in textbooks.
Occupied America: A History of Chicanos
Book – Non-fiction. By Rodolfo Acuña. 2010 (7th Edition). 432 pages.
A leading textbook on Chicano history.
On the Road to Freedom: A Guided Tour of the Civil Rights Trail
Book – Non-fiction. By Charles E. Cobb, Jr. 2008. 388 pages. High School and Adult.
An educational travel guide to historic sites of the Civil Rights Movement.
Open Veins of Latin America: Five Centuries of the Pillage of a Continent
Book – Non-fiction. By Eduardo Galeano. 1997. 360 pages.
Gripping history of the land and people of Latin America.
Pedagogy of the Oppressed
Book – Non-Fiction. By Paulo Freire. 1968. 192 pages.
Classic text on critical pedagogy.
A People’s History of Science: Miners, Midwives, and “Low Mechanicks”
Book – Nonfiction. By Clifford D. Conner. 2005. 554 pages.
New look at history of science, highlights hunter-gatherers, farmers, sailors, miners, blacksmiths, and more.
A People’s History of the Civil War: Struggles for the Meaning of Freedom
Book – Non-fiction. By David Williams. 2006. 594 pages.
An account of the American Civil War though the eyes of ordinary people
A People’s History of the United States: 1492 – Present
Book – Non-fiction. By Howard Zinn. 2005. 702 pages.
Howard Zinn’s groundbreaking work on U.S. history. This book details the lives and facts that are rarely included in textbooks — an indispensable teacher and student resource.
African American, Civil Rights Movements, Democracy & Citizenship, Economics, Education, Immigration, Imperialism, Labor, Laws & Citizen Rights, Native American, Organizing, Racism & Racial Identity, Slavery, Social Class, US Foreign Policy, Wars & Related Anti-War Movements, Women's History
Pledging Allegiance: The Politics of Patriotism in America’s Schools
Book – Non-fiction. Edited by Joel Westheimer. Foreword by Howard Zinn. 2007. 219 pages.
Educators address the politics of patriotism in America’s schools.
A Power Governments Cannot Suppress
Book – Non-fiction. By Howard Zinn. 2006. 293 pages.
A collection of essays on American history, class, immigration, justice, and ordinary citizens who have made a difference.
Radical Equations: Civil Rights from Mississippi to the Algebra Project
Book – Nonfiction. By Robert P. Moses and Charles E. Cobb, Jr. 2001. 256 pages.
Algebra Project founder on math literacy and civil rights.
Ready for Revolution: The Life and Struggles of Stokely Carmichael (Kwame Ture)
Book – Non-fiction. By Stokely Carmichael and Ekwueme Michael Thelwell. 2005. 848 pages.
Autobiography of Stokely Carmichael (Kwame Ture).
The Real Ebonics Debate: Power, Language, and the Education of African-American Children
Book – Non-fiction. Edited by Theresa Perry and Lisa Delpit. 1998. 227 pages.
Educators, linguists, writers, and students examine the lessons of the 1966 Oakland Ebonics controversy.
Reckoning at Eagle Creek: The Secret Legacy of Coal in the Heartland
Book – Non-Fiction. By Jeff Biggers. 300 pages. 2010.
The untold history of coal mining in the U.S. through the lens of race, labor, and the environment.
Refusing Racism: White Allies and the Struggle for Civil Rights
Book – Non-fiction. By Cynthia Stokes Brown. 2002. 192 pages.
Four short biographies of white people who’ve fought against racism in U.S. history.
Civil Rights Movements, Individuals in US History, Racism & Racial Identity
Remembering Jim Crow: African Americans Tell About Life in the Segregated South
Book – Non-fiction (with CD). Edited by William H. Chafe, Raymond Gavins and Robert Korstad. 2008. 346 pages.
African American, Individuals in US History, Laws & Citizen Rights, Racism & Racial Identity, Social Class
Right to Ride: Streetcar Boycotts and African American Citizenship in the Era of Plessy v. Ferguson
Book – Non-fiction. By Blair L.M. Kelley. 2010. 280 pages.
Examines acts of protest and resistance to segregated trains and streetcars during the early Jim Crow era.
African American, Civil Rights Movements, Democracy & Citizenship
Secrets: A Memoir of Vietnam and the Pentagon Papers
Book – Non-Fiction. By Daniel Ellsberg. 2003. 512 pages.
A riveting behind-the-scenes account of Ellsberg’s decade of disillusionment leading up to Nixon’s resignation.
She Would Not Be Moved How We Tell the Story of Rosa Parks and the Montgomery Bus Boycott
Book – Non-fiction. By Herbert Kohl. Intro by Marian Wright Edelman. 126 pages. 2007.
The myths and facts about Rosa Parks and the Montgomery Bus Boycott.
A Shining Thread of Hope: The History of Black Women in America
Book – Nonfiction. By Darlene Clark Hine and Kathleen Thompson. 1999.
An inspiring narrative of the role of Black women in shaping US History.
The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism
Book – Non-fiction. By Naomi Klein. 2008. 720 pages.
Klein demonstrates how shock has been used by global elites to push through a radical agenda of privatization and “free trade.”
Slave Nation: How Slavery United the Colonies & Sparked the American Revolution
Book – Non-fiction. By Alfred Blumrosen and Ruth Blumrosen. 2006.
A detailed account of the role slavery played in the drawing of the U.S. Constitution and in shaping the United States.
SNCC: The New Abolitionists
Book – Non-fiction. By Howard Zinn. 2002. 286 pages.
A detailed history of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee.
Soldiers in Revolt: GI Resistance During the Vietnam War
Book – Nonfiction. By David Cortright. 2005. 355 pages.
Sundown Towns: A Hidden Dimension of American Racism
Book – Non-fiction. By James Loewen. 2005. 562 pages.
Documents the history of towns across the United States that exclude African Americans (and other racial/ethnic groups) after sundown.
Teach Freedom: Education for Liberation in the African-American Tradition
Book – Non-fiction. Edited by Charles M. Payne and Carol Sills Strickland. Foreword by Charles E. Cobb Jr. 2008. 304 pages.
Documents the history of the use of education as a tool of collective liberation by African Americans.
Teaching Global History: A Social Studies Approach
Book – Non-fiction. By Alan J. Singer. 2011. 206 pages.
A guide that proposes another way to teach history from a global perspective.
Democracy & Citizenship, Education, Imperialism, World History/Global Studies
Teaching the Vietnam War: A Critical Examination of School Texts and an Interpretive Comparative History Utilizing the Pentagon Papers and Other Documents
Book – Non-fiction. By William Griffen and John Marciano. 1979. 183 pages.
Critique of the frameworks of U.S. history texts and engaging alternative history of the war.
To Make Our World Anew: A History of African Americans
Book – Non-fiction. Edited by Robin D. G. Kelley and Earl Lewis. 2005.
Comprehensive history of African Americans.
Transforming Teachers Unions: Fighting for Better Schools and Social Justice
Book – Non-fiction. Edited by Bob Peterson and Michael Charney. 1999. 144 pages.
Examines the role of teacher unions in social justice education.
Uncommon Sense from the Writings of Howard Zinn
Book – Non-fiction. By Howard Zinn. 2009. 160 pages.
A compilation of Howard Zinn’s most inspiring writings from over a decade of speaking and writing.
Undaunted By The Fight: Spelman College And The Civil Rights Movement, 1957-1967
Book – Non-fiction. By Harry G. Lefever. 2005. 304 pages.
The story of Spelman College students and faculty engagement in the Civil Rights Movement from 1957 to 1967.
African American, Civil Rights Movements, Education, Women's History
The Vietnam Wars: 1945-1990
Book – Non-fiction. By Marilyn B. Young. 1991. 448 pages.
The history of the Vietnam War.
US Foreign Policy, Wars & Related Anti-War Movements, World History/Global Studies
Vietnam: The Logic of Withdrawal
Book – Non-fiction. By Howard Zinn. 2002. 144 pages.
One of the earliest and most influential antiwar books, originally published in 1967, by people’s historian and activist Howard Zinn.
Waiting ‘Til the Midnight Hour: A Narrative History of Black Power in America
Book – Non-fiction. By Peniel E. Joseph. 2007. 432 pages.
A narrative history of the Black Power Movement.
The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America’s Great Migration
Book – Non-fiction. By Isabel Wilkerson. 2010. 640 pages.
The story of the great migration told through in-depth descriptions of three families.
We as Freemen: Plessy v. Ferguson
Book – Non-fiction. By Keith Medley. 2012. 256 pages.
Brings to life the untold history of the organizing leading up the Plessy v. Ferguson case.
African American, Laws & Citizen Rights, Racism & Racial Identity
Welcome to the Terrordome: The Pain, Politics, and Promise of Sports
Book – Non-fiction. By Dave Zirin. Foreword by Chuck D. 2007. 258 pages.
Essays on sports and politics.
The Whistleblower’s Handbook: A Step-by-Step Guide to Doing What’s Right and Protecting Yourself
Book – Non-fiction. By Stephen Martin Kohn. 2011. 332 pages.
A consumer guide to whistleblowing with step-by-step instructions, history, and twenty-one rules for whistleblowers.
Whitewashing War: Historical Myth, Corporate Textbooks, and Possibilities for Democratic Education
Book – Non-fiction. By Christopher R. Leahey. 2010. 145 pages.
A critical analysis of how textbooks represent U.S. involvement in Vietnam.
Why Unions Matter
Book – Non-fiction. By Michael D. Yates. 2009. 240 pages.
An introduction to the history and role of unions in the United States.
The Wrong Side of Murder Creek: A White Southerner in the Freedom Movement
Book – Non-fiction. By Bob Zellner with Constance Curry. Foreword by Julian Bond. 2008. 351 pages.
Zellner tells how one white Alabamian joined ranks with the black students who were sitting-in, marching, fighting, and sometimes dying to challenge the southern “way of life.”
The Zinn Reader: Writings on Disobedience and Democracy
Book – Nonfiction. By Howard Zinn. 2009. 746 pages.
This work represents the first time that Zinn has attempted to present the depth and breadth of his concerns in one volume, emphasizing six areas that have been important to Zinn’s work since the late 1950s–race, class, war, law, history, and means and ends.
Films
10,000 Black Men Named George
Film. By Robert Townsend. 2002. 89 minutes.
Docudrama about A. Philip Randolph and The Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters, the first Black Union in America.
African American, Individuals in US History, Labor, Organizing, Racism & Racial Identity
Bread and Roses
Film. Ken Loach. 2001. 106 min.
A compelling, fictionalized account of an actual labor campaign in Los Angeles.
The Corporation
Film. By Mark Achbar, Jennifer Abbott and Joel Bakan. 2004. 145 minutes.
This 26 award-winning documentary examines the nature, evolution, impacts and future of the modern business corporation and the increasing role it plays in society and our everyday lives.
Freedom Riders
Film. Written, produced, and directed by Stanley Nelson. 2011. 120 minutes.
A first hand look at the 1961 rides from the Freedom Riders themselves and others who were there.
Civil Rights Movements, Organizing, Racism & Racial Identity
Golden Lands, Working Hands
Film. By Fred Glass for the California Federation of Teachers. 170 minutes.
Ten-part film series brings the hidden history of working people in California to light, from the Gold Rush through the present.
Howard Zinn: You Can’t Be Neutral on a Moving Train – DVD
Film. By Deb Ellis and Denis Mueller. 2010. 78 minutes.
Documentary on life and work of Howard Zinn.
Individuals in US History, Labor, Organizing, Social Class, Wars & Related Anti-War Movements
The Killing Floor
Film. Directed by Bill Duke. 1985. 118 minutes.
Set during World War I, two African-American men deal with racism in the workplace and the labor union.
African American, Labor, Organizing, Racism & Racial Identity
Not Just a Game: Power, Politics & American Sports
Film. By Dave Zirin and Jeremy Earp. 2010. 62 minutes.
Film documentary for 6th grade to adult based on the bestselling book “A People’s History of Sports in the United States.”
African American, Media, Racism & Racial Identity, Sports, Women's History
On Coal River
Film and Teaching Guide. Directed by Francine Cavanaugh and Adams Wood. 2010. 81 minutes.
This free film takes viewers on a gripping emotional journey into a community surrounded by a looming toxic threat. The film follows a former coal miner and his neighbors in a struggle for the future of their valley and the planet.
Democracy & Citizenship, Economics, Environment & Food, Social Class
The People Speak – Extended Edition – DVD
Film. 2009. Directed by Howard Zinn, Chris Moore and Anthony Arnove. 110 minutes.
Dramatic readings and performances based on Voices of a People’s History and A People’s History of the United States.
Labor, Organizing, Wars & Related Anti-War Movements, Women's History
Slave Catchers, Slave Resisters
Film. Produced by Judy Richardson, Northern Light Productions for History Channel. 2005. 100 min.
Documentary on the many rebellions by enslaved people and other forms of resistance.
The Story of Bottled Water
Film. By Annie Leonard. 2010. 7 minutes.
A viewer-friendly, informative, animated critique of the bottled water industry.
Unconstitutional: The War on Our Civil Liberties
DVD. Nonny de la Peña. 2004.
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.
Unlearning “Indian” Sterotypes
Film. 1977 (Updated in 2008). Rethinking Schools and the Council on Interracial Books for Children.
Native American history through the eyes of Native American children.
The War You Don’t See
Film. By John Pilger. 2010.
Documentary on how the media has reported war, from the WWI to the present day.
When the Levees Broke – A Requiem in Four Acts
Film. By Spike Lee. 2006. 256 minutes.
Spike Lee’s masterful 4-part, 4-hour documentary on Hurricane Katrina.
When We Were Kings
Film. Directed by Leon Gast. 1996. 89 minutes.
Documentary about the famous heavyweight championship match between Muhammad Ali and George Foreman.
Songs and Poems
Occupy Wall Street – Song by David Rovics
Song. By David Rovics. 2011.
A ballad of the Occupy Movement with a high energy beat.
Websites
History Matters
Website. A clearinghouse of history resources for high school and college teachers and students.
Journey Up Coal River
Website.
Lesson plans for high school and college on creating a sustainable economy based on the example of the Coal River Valley in West Virginia.
Labor Heritage Foundation
Website.
Strengthens the labor movement through the use of music and arts.
Mario Savio: Memorial Lecture Fund
Website. Mario Savio: Memorial Lecture Fund and Young Activist Award.
This website provides information about the free speech activisit as well as information about nominating students for the Young Activist Award.
Tracked in America
Website.
Explores the historical context and stories of individuals who have been targets of U.S. government surveillance during the 20th century.
List of Resources
- Articles
- Audio
- Books: Fiction
- Books: Non-Fiction
- Films
- Picture Books
- Posters
- Profiles
- Songs and Poems
- Spanish/Bilingual
- Teaching Activity PDFs
- Teaching Guides
- Websites
