People's History at NCSS in Boston

The Zinn Education Project team hosted seven interactive workshops, a dynamic exhibit, and two receptions during the 202e National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS) conference in Boston in mid-November.

This is a big change from when ZEP co-director Bill Bigelow first attended the NCSS conference as a second-year teacher in 1979 and found barely a mention of social justice. Or 16 years ago, when NCSS rejected Howard Zinn’s offer to keynote — for free. It took behind-the-scenes organizing to turn that around and, even so, Zinn was placed on the last day after most people have usually left the conference. Defying tradition, 800 teachers stayed to hear Zinn’s phenomenal talk to teachers that November morning in 2008.

Since then, the Zinn Education Project team has hosted an exhibit and workshops each year. In addition to our presence, consistent exhibitors and presenters include Americans Who Tell the Truth, Beacon Press, CLASP, Donnely Colt, Haymarket Books, New Day Films, New York Historical Society, Pulitzer Center: 1619 Project, the Right Question Institute, Seven Stories Press, StoryCorps, and TeachRock. Of course, there are also right-wing groups. In 2014, we exposed the Koch Brothers funding of the Bill of Rights Institute.

This year at NCSS the Zinn Education Project celebrated our 16th anniversary and HowardZinn.org had a table in the exhibit area.

Workshops

Our team engaged attendees in lessons from the ZEP website on Saturday in three workshops and a poster session.

The Climate Crisis Has a History — Let’s Teach It
9:10 am–9:35 am, Room 111

Teaching the Radical Rosa Parks
2:25 pm–3:20 pm, Room 111

Teaching for Climate Justice Through Stories of Crisis and Possibility
2:25 pm–3:20 pm, Hall D

Teaching the Seeds of Violence in Palestine-Israel
3:30 pm–4:25 pm, Room 311

Teaching Stories

Many attendees shared stories about using Zinn Education Project lessons in their classrooms.

Exhibit

Visitors to our booth learned about our people’s history lessons, climate justice resources, Reconstruction report, and Teaching for Black Lives study groups.

There was also a table featuring resources from the two organizations that coordinate ZEP — Rethinking Schools and Teaching for Change.

The booth became a haven for progressive teachers who shared their stories about using Zinn Education Project lessons and the challenges of teaching people’s history in the face of anti-history education laws. Teachers received free books in appreciation for sharing stories, such as Matt Delmont’s Half American and Jeanne Theoharis’s The Rebellious Life of Mrs. Rosa Parks.

Our neighbors were Haymarket Press and Seven Stories Press.