Dear Zinn Education Project friends,
 The Zinn Education Project stands in solidarity with those who have denounced Donald Trump's racism, misogyny, xenophobia, and Islamophobia
----as well as his ignorant and deadly proposals about the environment and climate change. We have been encouraged by the young people
----in our classrooms and in the streets
----who are living the maxim that "people make history."
As we have tried to make sense of this election and what it means for educators and our students, we have asked ourselves, "What would Howard Zinn say?"
While detesting the outcome, we doubt he would have been surprised. Zinn observed that,
Is not nationalism one of the great evils of our time, along with racism, along with religious hatred? These ways of thinking
----cultivated, nurtured, indoctrinated from childhood on
----have been useful to those in power, and deadly for those out of power.
But Zinn would surely remind us that just because the rich and powerful want something to happen, doesn't make it so. He would urge us not to lose heart, and to remember our history. Zinn wrote:
There is a tendency to think that what we see in the present moment will continue. We forget how often we have been astonished by the sudden crumbling of institutions, by extraordinary changes in people's thoughts, by unexpected eruptions of rebellion against tyrannies, by the quick collapse of systems of power that seemed invincible.
No doubt, still reeling from this poisonous election, it is hard to be hopeful. But we invite you to draw on curriculum at the Zinn Education Project to help your students make sense of this new context. We include lessons
----some highlighted below
----that:
It's vital that we introduce our students to the individuals and social movements that have made this country more just. As Howard Zinn reminded us:
To omit, or to minimize, these voices of resistance is to create the idea that power only rests with those who have the guns, who possess the wealth, who own the newspapers and the television stations. People who seem to have no power, whether working people, people of color, or women
----once they organize and protest and create movements
----have a voice no government can suppress.
Civil rights organizer Ella Baker said, "We who believe in freedom cannot rest." The role of teachers is crucial in this freedom struggle. Please check out the lessons and resources on our website.
Thank you for your essential work at this time.
Sincerely,
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Bill Bigelow, co-director of the
Zinn Education Project for Rethinking Schools
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Deborah Menkart, co-director of the
Zinn Education Project for Teaching for Change
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