Public school districts across the United States are increasingly adopting curriculum resources from the Zinn Education Project (ZEP), a nonprofit organization named after the late radical 1960s professor Howard Zinn. This curriculum emphasizes American history through the lens of racial and sexual oppression, with lessons available for students from pre-kindergarten to grade 12. The ZEP curriculum has garnered support from over 176,000 educators, who have implemented more than 765,000 lessons in their classrooms. Advocates of the ZEP curriculum argue that it provides a more comprehensive understanding of American history, while critics express concern that it may promote far-left political ideology and challenge traditional historical narratives.
The Zinn Education Project’s approach is based on the principles of Howard Zinn’s seminal book, which teaches American history beginning with Christopher Columbus’ discovery of North America and leading through to the 21st century, through the lens of racial and sexual oppression. The principles in Zinn’s book serve as the benchmark for the ZEP’s lessons. The organization hosts an annual Teach Truth Day of Action, co-sponsored by the NEA, and other organizations. In 2003, Zinn described himself as,