History Lessons traces Dan Lynn Watts journey through childhood in New York during the McCarthy era. He marched on May Day with his war hero father and activist mother, chanting We dont want another war! and Jim Crow must go! At camp, he sang about world peace, freedom, and workers rights. At school, he attempted to hide his familys politics. He takes you inside family struggles against racism and political repression. Disillusioned with communism by the 1960s, he became a civil rights and antiwar activist.