Highlights from 2011

In spring, we added 10 new teaching activities. These include a dramatic role play about the little-known Japanese Latin American internment during World War II; an article on working with Lewis Hine’s photos of child labor; activities on the first-ever Indigenous People’s Summit on Climate Change; and a role play that puts students in the position of being members of the American Anti-Slavery Society, who must choose the most effective ways to fight slavery.

In summer, the Zinn Education Project becomes 1 of 5 national partners with StoryCorps’ National Teachers Initiative.

Listen to a few of the stories from people’s history teachers here.

In September, there was a standing-room-only crowd at the new Busboys and Poets in Hyattsville, Md., for the special event on Sept. 21 to celebrate International Peace Day and dedicate the Zinn Room. This event raised nearly $8000 for the Zinn Education Project. In November, we posted video highlights online from Jeff Zinn, Bernice Johnson Reagon, Cornel West, Dave Zirin, Beverly Daniel Tatum, Barbara Ehrenreich, and many more.

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The Zinn Education Project was thrilled to refer educators for the Civic Voices’ International Democracy Memory Bank Project. Civic Voices, administered by the American Federation of Teachers Educational Foundation (AFTEF), and funded by the U.S. Department of Education, is an “international civic education exchange program that involves teachers and students from around the world in preserving the legacy of their countries’ democratic struggles.” The highlight for them was a three-day seminar in Birmingham, Ala., in the fall of 2011. Read more.

In early December, the Zinn Education Project booth had a constant stream of visitors at the National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS) 2011 Conference in Washington, D.C.

The booth became a gathering place for people to share stories about teaching people’s history, memories of Howard Zinn, and concerns about the obstacles to teaching outside the textbook. Read more.

Also at the National Council for Social Studies conference, the Zinn Education Project hosted a session with historian and author James Loewen, who spoke to a standing-room-only audience on Dec. 3. More than 140 educators filled the room to hear about his latest book, The Confederate and Neo-Confederate Reader: The “Great Truth” about the “Lost Cause.” Read more.

At the time of this posting, 1/20/12, we have over 17,000 teachers registered for the Zinn Education Project—this is an increase of 9,338 people teaching outside the textbook from 2010. Thanks to you outreach and sharing with friends and colleagues, we are quickly approaching 20,000. Keep up the good work and continue to spread the word!