A left-wing education nonprofit organization recently found to be publishing classroom materials that praise political violence has received hundreds of thousands of dollars in taxpayer funding, according to public records reviewed by the North American Values Institute (NAVI).
Teaching for Change, a Washington, DC-based nonprofit, operates the Zinn Education Project (ZEP) alongside Milwaukee-based Rethinking Schools. The project, named for late socialist historian Howard Zinn, offers lesson plans and classroom materials for K–12 teachers based on A People’s History of the United States.
A Washington Examiner investigation published Oct. 21, found that ZEP materials include “praise of violent organizations, riots, and other illegal activity oriented toward left-wing political goals.” A follow-up report on Oct. 25 expanded on those findings.
Examples cited by the Examiner and NAVI include lessons that portray members of the Black Panther Party, such as Eldridge Cleaver and Assata Shakur, in wholly positive terms; classroom activities highlighting the 1969 Stonewall Riots as a model for social change; and lessons endorsing forms of eco-activism involving sabotage of energy infrastructure.
Other ZEP resources include “Teaching the Fight for Queer Liberation,” which invites students to simulate organizing against the “Religious Right,” and materials discussing Palestinian resistance, including some authored by writers sympathetic to Hamas.
ZEP’s website confirms many of these themes. It offers materials such as “‘Riots,’ Racism, and the Police,” which examines “a century of police conduct and racial violence,” and modules on the Black Lives Matter movement, climate activism, and policing in America.
Supporters of ZEP, including reviewers on educational platforms such as Common Sense Education, defend these lessons, saying they promote critical thinking and a more inclusive view of US history. Critics, including the Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting and Analysis, have described the materials as ideologically biased and sympathetic to political violence.
According to NAVI’s review of public records, Teaching for Change has received substantial taxpayer support despite the controversy surrounding its curriculum materials.
Between fiscal years 2023 and 2025, the DC government awarded nearly $330,000 to Teaching for Change through contracts with the city’s public schools, mayor’s office, and Commission on the Arts. The Smithsonian Institution, which receives more than half of its annual budget from federal appropriations, provided an additional $20,000 between 2019 and 2022 for “teach-ins” and educational events.
NAVI, formerly the Jewish Institute for Liberal Values, confirmed the funding through official procurement and grant databases. No contradictory evidence has surfaced regarding the amounts or sources.
Founded in 2008, the Zinn Education Project reports more than 172,000 registered educators nationwide and partnerships with major organizations including the National Education Association and Black Lives Matter at School.
A 2024 survey by the American Historical Association found that about one in four US history teachers use ZEP resources in some form.
The project’s influence extends to Alaska, where at least 10 teachers in Anchorage, Fairbanks, and rural districts have publicly signed ZEP’s 2021 “Pledge to Teach the Truth,” affirming their commitment to continue using its critical race theory materials.
ZEP-affiliated events have also taken place in Anchorage, including “Teach Truth Days of Action” gatherings in 2021, 2022, and 2025, coordinated by local educators and advocacy groups.
Among the lesson plans from Zinn is a classroom practice exercise to help students learn how to unionize their future workplaces.
One thought on “Taxpayer-funded nonprofit linked to classroom materials praising political violence”
Let us all try communicating more clearly. We must stop using the term “nonprofit” and use instead the term, “so-called nonprofit.” As we all know, there is no such thing as a true nonprofit company. So-called nonprofits exist for the sole purpose of evading taxes. The profit they make is simply labeled as employee wages, bonuses, benefits–all untaxed. It’s one of the biggest scams in our nation. The same applies to organized church corporations. Think, the 1st Amendment says our government will not establish a religion. Well, giving tax breaks is how the government gives free money to churches–establishing religion. Sorry folks, facts are facts; the IRS violates the 1st Amendment by giving money to every church in our nation. I realize these scams are not going to be rectified any time soon but let’s at least stop lying to each other about what’s going on.