Aug. 15, 1975: Joan Little Acquitted
Joan Little used deadly force to resist sexual assault and was the first to successfully defend herself in court leading to acquittal.
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Theme: Criminal Justice & Incarceration
Criminal Justice & Incarceration
April 19, 1989: “Central Park Five” Arrested
The New York Police Department falsely accused four African American teenagers and one Latino teenager who became known as the “Central Park Five.”
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May 30, 1942: Fred Korematsu Arrested
Fred Korematsu was arrested on a street corner in San Leandro, California for resisting Executive Order 9066, in which all people of Japanese descent were incarcerated in U.S. concentration camps.
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A Queer History of the United States for Young People
Book — Non-fiction. By Michael Bronski, adapted for by Richie Chevat. 2019. 336 pages.
A young adult readers edition of the original text explores the history of LGBTQ+ experiences in the U.S. since 1500.
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A young adult readers edition of the original text explores the history of LGBTQ+ experiences in the U.S. since 1500.
July 4, 1976: Marion Prisoners Stage Bicentennial Hunger Strike
Inmates at United States Penitentiary (USP) Marion staged a hunger strike on the U.S. bicentennial in protest of inhumane treatment by the prison administration.
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July 2, 1839: The Amistad Mutiny
Africans on the Cuban schooner Amistad rose up against their captors, seizing control of the ship, which had been transporting them to chattel slavery.
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One Long Night: A Global History of Concentration Camps
Book — Non-fiction. By Andrea Pitzer. 2017. 480 pages.
Starting with 1890s Cuba, this book is a chronological and geopolitical history of concentration camps that is filled with prisoner perspectives.
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Starting with 1890s Cuba, this book is a chronological and geopolitical history of concentration camps that is filled with prisoner perspectives.
July 6, 2016: Philando Castile is Killed by Police
Philando Castile, an African American, was shot to death by a police officer at a traffic stop in Falcon Heights, Minnesota. Castile had worked as a nutritional supervisor at an elementary school.
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Just Mercy: A True Story of the Fight for Justice (Adapted for Young Adults)
Book — Non-fiction. By Bryan Stevenson. 2019. 288 pages.
This young adult adaptation provides readers a glimpse into the lives of the wrongfully imprisoned.
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This young adult adaptation provides readers a glimpse into the lives of the wrongfully imprisoned.
April 8, 1911: Banner Mine Explosion
An explosion at the Banner Mine in Alabama killed 128 men, almost all of them African American prisoners of the state who were forced to work in the mine under the convict leasing system.
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Race Against Time: A Reporter Reopens the Unsolved Murder Cases of the Civil Rights Era
Book — Non-fiction. By Jerry Mitchell. 2020. 432 pages.
An account of one journalist's search for the long-buried truths that could bring killers to justice for the assassination of Medgar Evers, the firebombing of Vernon Dahmer, the 16th Street Church bombing in Birmingham, and the Mississippi Burning case.
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An account of one journalist's search for the long-buried truths that could bring killers to justice for the assassination of Medgar Evers, the firebombing of Vernon Dahmer, the 16th Street Church bombing in Birmingham, and the Mississippi Burning case.
Passionate Declarations: Essays on War and Justice
Book — Non-fiction. By Howard Zinn. 2003. 368 pages.
A selection of passionate, honest, and piercing essays looking at political ideology in the United States.
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A selection of passionate, honest, and piercing essays looking at political ideology in the United States.
Justice in Everyday Life: The Way It Really Works
Books — Non-fiction. Howard Zinn. 1974.
Howard Zinn's book on the way justice really works in the U.S. and how it can change for the better.
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Howard Zinn's book on the way justice really works in the U.S. and how it can change for the better.
Chokehold: Policing Black Men
Book — Non-fiction. By Paul Butler. 2018. 320 pages.
A former federal prosecutor explains how the criminal justice system works against the people and how we can disrupt its abuse.
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A former federal prosecutor explains how the criminal justice system works against the people and how we can disrupt its abuse.
Repair: Students Design a Reparations Bill
Teaching Activity. By Ursula Wolfe-Rocca.
In this activity, students take on the role of activist-experts to improve upon a Congressional bill for reparations for Black people. They talk back to Congress’ flimsy legislation and design a more robust alternative.
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In this activity, students take on the role of activist-experts to improve upon a Congressional bill for reparations for Black people. They talk back to Congress’ flimsy legislation and design a more robust alternative.
“Riots,” Racism, and the Police: Students Explore a Century of Police Conduct and Racial Violence
Teaching Activity. By Ursula Wolfe-Rocca.
Students explore three documents produced in the wake of three major episodes of racial violence (1919, 1967, 2014) to understand the long trajectory of police violence in Black communities.
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Students explore three documents produced in the wake of three major episodes of racial violence (1919, 1967, 2014) to understand the long trajectory of police violence in Black communities.
Feb. 2 and 5, 1951: Virginia Executes the Martinsville Seven
In 1951, the Commonwealth of Virginia executed seven Black men despite a national campaign in their defense.
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June 25, 2002: Tamir Rice Born
Killed by the police only twelve years later, today Tamir Rice was born.
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The Real Cost of Prisons Comix
Book — Non-fiction. By Ellen Miller-Mack, Craig Gilmore, Lois Ahrens, Susan Willmarth, and Kevin Pyle. 2008. 104 pages.
This comic book presents the human stories behind the statistics.
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This comic book presents the human stories behind the statistics.
Attica Prison Uprising
Resource list. Overview with links to articles, books, primers, films, and websites about the Attica Prison Uprising for the classroom.
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April 21, 1930: Inmates Burned Alive in Ohio State Penitentiary Fire
Three hundred and twenty-two inmates were killed in a fire at the Ohio State Penitentiary.
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America on Fire: The Untold History of Police Violence and Black Rebellion Since the 1960s
Book — Non-Fiction. By Elizabeth Hinton. 2021. 224 pages.
The rebellion and movement for Black lives of 2020 had clear precursors, this book explains, and any attempt to understand that crisis requires a reckoning with the recent past.
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The rebellion and movement for Black lives of 2020 had clear precursors, this book explains, and any attempt to understand that crisis requires a reckoning with the recent past.
Blood in the Water: The Attica Uprising of 1971 and Its Legacy
Book — Non-fiction. By Heather Ann Thompson. 2016. 752 pages.
The hidden history of the infamous 1971 Attica Prison Uprising.
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The hidden history of the infamous 1971 Attica Prison Uprising.
Slavery by Another Name
Film. By Sam Pollard, Catherine Allan, Douglas Blackmon and Sheila Curran Bernard. 2012. 90 minutes.
Reveals the interlocking forces in the South and the North that enabled “neoslavery” post-Emancipation Proclamation.
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Reveals the interlocking forces in the South and the North that enabled “neoslavery” post-Emancipation Proclamation.
May 13, 1985: Philadelphia Police Bomb MOVE
The Philadelphia Police Department dropped a C-4 bomb on the home of the MOVE organization, killing eleven people (including five children) and wiping out half a city block.
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