#tdih 1870 150 yrs ago. Fifteenth Amendment to U.S. Constitution was formally adopted. Declared the right of U.S. citizens to vote could “not be abridged or denied” by any state "on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.” zinnedproject.org/news/tdih/fift…
On a per capita and absolute basis, more African Americans were elected to public office during the period from 1865 to 1880 than at any other time in U.S. history. These legislatures brought in programs of public benefit such as universal public education. #TeachReconstruction
Over time, the 15th Amendment would be narrowly interpreted, allowing states to implement white supremacist restrictions such as poll taxes and "literacy" tests that did not mention race by name, but effectively prevented most African Americans from voting. #teachvotingrights
In a moment of renewed and insidious voter suppression, examining the history of Reconstruction and the struggle for voting rights presents an opportunity to challenge the deeply entrenched fable of the steady forward progress of U.S. history. #teachoutsidetextbook
The Zinn Education Project is partnering with @ColorOfChange on a campaign to teach about voting rights — in history and today — on this 150th anniversary of 15th Amendment. On link below, see downloadable Voting Rights Toolkit and more resources. zinnedproject.org/15th-amendment/
Here is a free, 3-lesson unit for grades 7+ on the history of struggle against voter suppression by @LadyOfSardines. Includes text by Fannie Lou Hamer and short bios of voting rights activists throughout U.S. history. #peopleshistoryzinnedproject.org/materials/teac…
• • •
Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to
force a refresh
#tdih 1969. Assassination of Fred Hampton and Mark Clark -- shot to death by police in their Chicago apartment. #terrorism
Read more ⬇️ and find lessons (free via ZEP) to teach about the Black Panther Party, COINTELPRO, and police. #TeachTruth 🧵 zinnedproject.org/news/tdih/blac…
See “The Assassination of Fred Hampton: How the FBI and the Chicago Police Murdered a Black Panther,” an interview with lawyer Jeffery Haas (co-founder of the People’s Law Office) on @democracynow ⬇️ democracynow.org/2009/12/4/the_…
Teach about this history with lesson below by Ursula Wolfe-Rocca.
"Through examining FBI documents, students learn the scope of the FBI’s COINTELPRO campaign to spy on, infiltrate, discredit, and disrupt all corners of the Black Freedom Movement." zinnedproject.org/materials/coin…
Now read about #tdih 1951 protest by Black women in Sojourners for Truth & Justice. Their manifesto “A Call to Negro Women” listed grievances at racial terrorism, S. African apartheid, US militarism, colonialism.⬇️ 🧵 zinnedproject.org/news/tdih/sojo…
"We can not, must not, and will no longer in sight of God or man sit by & watch our lives destroyed by an unreasonable & unreasoning hate that metes out to us every kind of death it is possible for a human being to die." -- Lorraine Hansberry, reading manifesto to crowd
Read a free online zine with essays about the significance of the Sojourners for Truth and Justice in the development of Black feminism and the legacy of Black women freedom fighters.
Two boys were murdered that same day in Birmingham: 16-yr-old Johnny Robinson & 13-yr-old Virgil Ware. 💔
"Let us also not labor under the illusion that this church bombing was an anomaly. During eight years prior. . ., there had been 21 bombings in Birmingham. " -- Angela Davis
". . . A broader way of thinking about justice in . . . Birmingham bombing would require, 1st of all, a fuller understanding of the event & its historical context . . ." Angela Davis via @democracynow
(Note how soon after Aug. 28 '63 March on Washington.) democracynow.org/2013/9/16/terr…
#tdih Sept. 11, we share a 🧵 of tragic anniversaries incl. at Attica Prison, 50th anniv. of U.S. backed coup in Chile, Myrna Mack murder in Guatemala, attacks on WTC & Pentagon, more. And "Whose 'Terrorism'?" lesson.
In their memory, let us teach & work for peace & justice.
#tdih 1851 Horrific Fugitive Slave Act met with resistance by armed African Americans in Christiana, Penn. who successfully defended four Black people from capture, serving as a catalyst for further armed self-defense within abolitionist movement. ⬇️ zinnedproject.org/news/tdih/chri…
#tdih 1971 Prisoners at Attica presented a manifesto consisting of 28 demands to NY State officials.
They were in midst of uprising (9/9 - 9/13) that ended in brutal repression.
#tdih Stono Rebellion (1739), Association for the Study of African American Life and History @ASALH founding (1915), Attica Prison Uprising (1971).
Read about each event in 🧵 ⬇️& consider the connection between all three.
Defend right to #TeachTruth #TeachOutsideTextbook
#tdih 1739 in British colony of SC, a man named Jemmy along with 20 more Africans organized a rebellion (one of many) against institution of slavery on banks of Stono River.
#tdih 1915 @ASALH founded by Carter G. Woodson & Jesse E. Moorland to promote, research, preserve, interpret, & disseminate information about Black life, history, & culture to global community.
"I shall neither fawn nor cringe before any party, nor stoop to beg them for my rights. You may expel us, gentlemen, but I firmly believe that you will some day repent it." -Henry M. Turner #tdih 1868 when Georgia denied elected Black reps their seats 🧵⬇️ zinnedproject.org/news/tdih/henr…
"The Black man cannot protect a country, if the country doesn’t protect him; and if, tomorrow, a war should arise, I would not raise a musket to defend a country where my manhood is denied." -- Henry McNeal Turner
“It’s time for a new Reconstruction story [to] . . . better understand how we got here. A story where the central characters are the Black people who fought to liberate themselves. . . despite every attempt at violent suppression.” — @KidadaEWilliams ⬇️ teachreconstructionreport.org