Public schools throughout the U.S. are encouraging teachers to utilize resources from a nonprofit that presents American history through the lens of racial and sexual oppression.
The Zinn Educational Project (ZEP), named after the radical professor Howard Zinn, offers lesson plans and materials for students from pre-kindergarten to 12th grade. The organization claims its curriculum has reached over 176,000 teachers and has seen more than 765,000 lesson downloads. ZEP also hosts an annual event called Truth in Action Day, in partnership with the NEA, which is the largest teachers’ union in the country, among other groups.
Howard Zinn, who passed away in 2010, taught at Boston University for several decades and authored *A People’s History of the United States*, a book that explores American history from Columbus’s arrival in North America to the present, focusing on oppression. His book’s themes serve as the foundation for ZEP’s educational materials.
In 2003, Zinn identified himself as “something of an anarchist, something of a socialist. Probably a democratic socialist.” New York City Public Schools, the largest district in the country, promotes ZEP resources particularly during Black History Month, Women’s History Month, Disability Pride Month, and Pride Month.
The school system’s website states that ZEP has also created materials titled “Teaching with Seizing Freedom” for educators, which correspond with a related podcast.
Critics have argued that K-12 ethnic studies promote ideologies around, for example, the Black Panther Party and other topics they find controversial.
ZEP describes its podcast, *Teaching with Seizing Freedom*, as an excellent tool for introducing students to the various ways that Black individuals have sought freedom in American history, emphasizing previously silenced voices.
In preparation for Disability Pride Month, teachers are being directed to ZEP resources, such as an article providing ways to analyze children’s literature for themes around disabilities.
In Chicago, the public school system acknowledges ZEP as a valuable resource amid other social justice materials, while Portland, Oregon, also points teachers to ZEP for Black History Month, where the website contains numerous resources focused on that topic.
For Black History Month specifically, ZEP suggests a book titled *The Real Ebonics Debate: Power, Language, and the Education of African-American Children*, which discusses Ebonics as a significant means of communication for many African American children and stresses the importance of teachers understanding this language in classroom contexts.
In Berkeley, California, teaching guides for grades K-8 also reference ZEP in the context of Black History Month.
In 2021, Columbus City Schools in Ohio assigned eighth-graders a summer task that criticized Columbus for the “genocide” of the Taino people, using ZEP materials which included a follow-up quiz on the readings.
The ZEP website includes testimonials from educators nationwide, highlighting their positive experiences with its resources. For example, Sarah Giddings, a middle school social studies teacher in Arizona, shared how she used ZEP materials to cover climate change in her classroom.
Corey Wincester, a high school history teacher in Illinois, stated he’s been using ZEP’s resources since he began teaching and noted how his students have learned to question traditional narratives around figures like Columbus and Lincoln concerning issues of racial supremacy.
No responses were received from the school districts mentioned when they were approached for comments.
