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Historian Matthew Delmont’s excellent book, Half American: The Epic Story of African Americans Fighting World War II at Home and Abroad, chronicles the lives of African Americans who fought in the war and the fight against racism in the United States.

Delmont and Dartmouth College are donating 10,000 copies of the new paperback edition to public school teachers, school librarians, and teacher educators who have a plan for using the text. This generous offer, coordinated by the Zinn Education Project, is in addition to Delmont’s earlier donation of 4,000 hardback copies.

The book includes stories that can be woven into the curriculum of key people and events, such as: Thurgood Marshall, the chief lawyer for the NAACP, who investigated and publicized violence against Black troops and veterans; Ella Baker, the civil rights leader who advocated on the home front for Black soldiers, veterans, and their families; James Thompson, the 26-year-old whose letter to a newspaper laying bare the hypocrisy of fighting against fascism abroad when racism still reigned at home set in motion the Double Victory campaign; and poet Langston Hughes, who worked as a war correspondent for the Black press.

High school teacher Amanda Sandoval, of Eastvale, California, had her students write blackout poems based on the book.

Submit Your Request

Request a single copy for background reading or a set of five for a teacher or student reading group. Limited sets of 12 or 24 are also available. To request the books, tell us why you are interested in the book and how you might use it.

As long as you meet the criteria and respond to all the questions as asked, the books will be shipped to you by the publisher. The offer is limited to the United States. Other than with the publisher, we do not share your contact information.

Teach About the Congo

Although it has not been headline news, a record nearly 7 million people have been displaced due to ongoing conflict and violence in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. As noted on Democracy Now!, “[I]t’s one of the largest internal displacement and humanitarian crises in the world.”

To teach the history that has contributed to this tragedy, we offer the lesson by Alison Kysia, “Congo, Coltan, and Cell Phones: A People’s History Teaching Activity.”

Students learn about the colonial history of Congo, debate responsibility for crimes against humanity, and investigate the connection, past and present, between the exploitation of natural resources and violence.

We also offer lessons to teach about other events of critical importance that get shortchanged in the corporate media including the climate crisis, the violence in Palestine and Israel, contemporary McCarthyism, threats to voting rights, and more.

Events for Educators

Check out the Teach the Black Freedom Struggle classes, the book launch and celebration for the brand new edition of Rethinking Multicultural Education, and more events.

We Need Your Help

The right has a well-funded campaign to suppress the truth. Your donation — whether $5 or $500 — will help us continue to #TeachTruth.

Most of the Zinn Education Project’s funding comes from individuals like you.

COORDINATED BY:

PO BOX 73038, WASHINGTON, D.C. 20056 

202-588-7205 | zinnedproject.org