Recently, the Zinn Education Project asked me if I would be willing to contribute to their “This Day in History” teaching resources and I immediately said yes. I’ve been inspired by Howard Zinn since childhood; his politically engaged research and teaching represents exactly the kind of work I try to do. The Zinn Education Project carries on his legacy by sharing resources designed for K-12 teachers, but easily adaptable to the college level. I’m really flattered to be a part of a project that is incredibly important in the context of rising fascism, christian nationalist and white supremacist attacks on inclusive and accurate curriculum, and the privatization of public schools.

My contribution to the Zinn Education project is a blog post about one of my favorite stories from Midwest trans history: the fight against Chicago’s dress restriction law. I retell the story of trans woman Joy Polley, a teacher who lost her job after being arrested under the city’s anti-crossdressing law and bravely became a part of an intersectional struggle that would eventually overturn the law. This story opens my new book The Trans Midwest: Trans Feminist Coalition Building Since World War II. I’m so excited to get to share it with K-12 educators and other history lovers, including you!

I hope you’ll check out my blog post, my forthcoming book(!), and everything else that the Zinn Education Project has to offer.