American Revolution 250 and 100th Anniversary of Black History Month
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American Revolution 250
Teach Truth
In 2026, the groups organizing to ban books and censor history are focusing their efforts on the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. These include the Heritage Foundation, Hillsdale College, Moms for Liberty, PragerU, Turning Point USA, and more. Just last week the Trump administration removed the exhibits on slavery at the President’s House in Philadelphia.
We, too, are working on the 250th anniversary. We offer lessons and campaign materials to teach truthfully about the American Revolution and the founding of the United States.
Unpacking the history of the American Revolution helps students understand its legacy and how to shape a more just future, as Heather McGhee explains in the quote below from The Sum of Us.
We offer considerations for framing the American Revolution, resources for teaching outside the textbook, and a map of the cities where teachers are participating.
In I’ll Make Me a World, Jarvis Givens recasts Black History Month as a century-long struggle over memory and power. — Elizabeth Hinton
I’ll Make Me a World is a personal and political journey through the 100-year history of Black History Month — from its radical beginnings in 1926 as “Negro History Week” to its role today in cultural battles.
As author Bill Bigelow explains, “Our response to the climate crisis depends on who or what we think is causing it. This trial role play helps students understand how complicated it is to assess ‘guilt.’ It’s an engaging activity in which students defend entities charged with causing the climate crisis as they point the finger at others. Ultimately, it asks them to consider how different factors are linked together, and, depending on their assessment of blame, to propose what justice looks like.”
Add these events, hosted by the Zinn Education Project and our colleagues, to your calendar. Online unless noted otherwise.
Join a virtual launch and celebration of Main Street: A Community Story About Redlining by Britt Hawthorne and Tiffany Jewell. The webinar, on February 5 at 7pm ET, features a conversation with the authors, followed by a panel of early childhood and elementary educators discussing how to teach young learners about the history of redlining and the power of community organizing. Hosted by Rethinking Schools and more.
On Monday, February 23, at 7pm ET, Jesse Hagopian will facilitate a curriculum workshop on “Legalize Black Education,” a Zinn Education Project lesson that explores examples of laws that suppress Black education in the wake of major victories for the Black Freedom Struggle, highlighting the historical context and motivations behind these legislative efforts. There will be time to meet other social justice educators in small groups to brainstorm ways to adapt the lesson for your classroom.
The annualNative Knowledge 360° Teach-In, hosted by the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian in collaboration with Teaching for Change on March 14, is an online opportunity for educators to access classroom resources from NMAI’s Native Knowledge 360° education portal, the Zinn Education Project, and more.
Teachers for Social Justice and Education Workers for Palestine are hosting the 19th Teaching for Social Justice Curriculum Fair, in person in Chicago, on March 14. There will be speakers, workshops, curriculum, resources, culture, and food. The theme is Fighting for Our Futures: Teaching for Solidarity and Justice in this Crisis.
Teachers are under attack for teaching truthfully about U.S. history. Please donate so we can continue to offer free people’s history lessons and resources, and defend teachers’ right to use them.
