Howard Zinn
- A Brief Introduction
Best known for his modern classic and bestseller A People’s History of the United States, Howard Zinn is an American professor, social critic, political scientist, historian, activist, and playwright! Mr. Zinn has been an outstanding figure in both the United States Civil Rights and anti-war movements since the 1960s.
In World War II
Education
After the war Mr. Zinn devoted himself to in depth academic studies – seeking to better understand the nature of history. Receive a B.A from New York University, his M.A. and Ph.D. from Columbia, and a post-doctoral Fellowship from Harvard, Zinn went on to work as Professor of History at Spelman College from 1956 to 63 and then as Professor of Political Science at Boston University from 1964 to 1988. His dedicated studies gave Howard a deep insight into World events and the political and economic manipulations behind many of those events – and he has gone on to share his insight with his students and, more recently - through his books - with the rest of the World.
Zinn’s Early Teaching Career and Civil Rights Activism
Alice Walker one of Zinn's early activist-students
Even in the early days of his academic career Professor Zinn had become politically active. For example in 1956 after being appointed chairman of the department of history and social sciences at Spelman College, he worked with historian August Meier in lobbying “to end the practice of the Southern Historical Association of holding meetings at segregated hotels.” Zinn became increasingly involved in the Civil Rights movement and served as an adviser to the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), about which he later wrote the book SNCC: The New Abolitionists.
Also while at Spelman, Professor Zinn worked with the historian Staughton Lynd in mentoring young student activists. Among these student activists were Alice Walker the activist and extremely successful author of works such as The Color Purple, and the children’s rights activist Marian Wright Edelman now president of the Children’s Defense Fund. Edelman has written of her memories of Zinn accompanying students to a sit-in protest at the segregated all white section of the Georgia state legislature and of the major influence he had on her life.
The ‘Troublemaker’ Teacher and Early Writings Zinn was eventually dismissed from his position as a tenured professor at Spelman in June of 1963 in part because of his challenging views and particularly when he took the side of students in challenging the college’s traditional plan of “turning out young ladies". Zinn rather encouraged the students to continue participating in the higher cause of breaking down segregation in Atlanta’s public places – whether that involved them joining picket lines or even going to jail as a consequence of their standing up for equality. In his autobiography You Can’t Be Neutral on a Moving Train: A Personal History of Our Times Zinn recounts that his seven years at Spelman College were “probably the most interesting, most educational years for me.” and that “I learned more from my students than my students learned from me.” In his book SNCC: The New Abolitionists Zinn wrote of how the students – on their own volition - organized sit-in protests against segregation without the oversight of more established civil rights organizations. In 2005 Zinn was invited back to Spelman to give the commencement address! The speech he gave, Against Discouragement, is now well known in its own right and is widely available on the Internet.
Zinn was very involved in the Civil Rights movement as both a participant and frequently as a writer. In regards to his time at Spelman he personally observed and recorded at least 30 violations of the 1st and 14th U.S. Constitutional amendments, including rights to equal protection of the laws, freedom of speech, and freedom of assembly. He also wrote of the failure of the political and legal establishment – particularly the FBI and even John and Robert Kennedy - to uphold the laws and to protect civil rights workers from the brutal attacks of segregationists.
Also while at Spelman, Professor Zinn worked with the historian Staughton Lynd in mentoring young student activists. Among these student activists were Alice Walker the activist and extremely successful author of works such as The Color Purple, and the children’s rights activist Marian Wright Edelman now president of the Children’s Defense Fund. Edelman has written of her memories of Zinn accompanying students to a sit-in protest at the segregated all white section of the Georgia state legislature and of the major influence he had on her life.
The ‘Troublemaker’ Teacher and Early Writings Zinn was eventually dismissed from his position as a tenured professor at Spelman in June of 1963 in part because of his challenging views and particularly when he took the side of students in challenging the college’s traditional plan of “turning out young ladies". Zinn rather encouraged the students to continue participating in the higher cause of breaking down segregation in Atlanta’s public places – whether that involved them joining picket lines or even going to jail as a consequence of their standing up for equality. In his autobiography You Can’t Be Neutral on a Moving Train: A Personal History of Our Times Zinn recounts that his seven years at Spelman College were “probably the most interesting, most educational years for me.” and that “I learned more from my students than my students learned from me.” In his book SNCC: The New Abolitionists Zinn wrote of how the students – on their own volition - organized sit-in protests against segregation without the oversight of more established civil rights organizations. In 2005 Zinn was invited back to Spelman to give the commencement address! The speech he gave, Against Discouragement, is now well known in its own right and is widely available on the Internet.
Zinn was very involved in the Civil Rights movement as both a participant and frequently as a writer. In regards to his time at Spelman he personally observed and recorded at least 30 violations of the 1st and 14th U.S. Constitutional amendments, including rights to equal protection of the laws, freedom of speech, and freedom of assembly. He also wrote of the failure of the political and legal establishment – particularly the FBI and even John and Robert Kennedy - to uphold the laws and to protect civil rights workers from the brutal attacks of segregationists.
Later Academic Career and Anti-War Activism
In 1964, soon after his dismissal from Spelman, Zinn accepted a political science position at Boston University where his civil liberties classes were extremely popular – with up to 400 students applying to the class every semester – even though it was a non-required course. Zinn would continue his career at B.U. for 24 years – until his retirement in 1988. During his time at B.U. Zinn robustly expanded his activism efforts in anti-war protesting and writing. Along with his considerable education about World events and a scholarly appreciation for the horrors of war, Howard had the direct wartime experience of his early career as a bombardier and the knowledge that he had been involved in the deaths of a considerable number of people to fuel his strong Anti-war feelings. 1967 saw the publication of Zinn’s book, Vietnam: The Logic of Withdrawal, one of the first books urging the U.S. to withdraw from the war in Vietnam. In a 1968 diplomatic visit to Vietnam Zinn was instrumental in the release of three American airmen ‘Prisoners Of War’ – the first such release since the beginning of the U.S. attacks
'The Pentagon Papers'
Zinn edited and, along with Professor Noam Chomsky, provided an analysis of the controversial 1971 release of The Pentagon Papers, a 7,000 page top-secret Department of Defense report describing the U.S. Government’s behind-the-scenes planning and policy in regards to the Vietnam War. These documents had been ‘leaked’ by Daniel Ellsberg a State Department officer with high security clearance who after attempting to get politicians to take action gave the documents to The New York Times – so that the World could see the covert political and corporate motivations that had really motivated the Vietnam War and the countless deaths it brought about. Beyond editing and annotating the documents Howard Zinn also participated as an expert witness in Ellsberg’s subsequent conspiracy and espionage trial – pointing out clearly that the ‘Pentagon Papers’ posed no threat to US security but were in truth a severe embarrassment to the both the U.S. Government and corporate tin, rubber, and oil interests.
"There is no flag large enough to cover the shame of killing innocent people for a purpose which is unattainable."
- Howard Zinn
'The Pentagon Papers'
Zinn edited and, along with Professor Noam Chomsky, provided an analysis of the controversial 1971 release of The Pentagon Papers, a 7,000 page top-secret Department of Defense report describing the U.S. Government’s behind-the-scenes planning and policy in regards to the Vietnam War. These documents had been ‘leaked’ by Daniel Ellsberg a State Department officer with high security clearance who after attempting to get politicians to take action gave the documents to The New York Times – so that the World could see the covert political and corporate motivations that had really motivated the Vietnam War and the countless deaths it brought about. Beyond editing and annotating the documents Howard Zinn also participated as an expert witness in Ellsberg’s subsequent conspiracy and espionage trial – pointing out clearly that the ‘Pentagon Papers’ posed no threat to US security but were in truth a severe embarrassment to the both the U.S. Government and corporate tin, rubber, and oil interests.
"There is no flag large enough to cover the shame of killing innocent people for a purpose which is unattainable."
- Howard Zinn
A People’s History of the United States
1980 saw the publication of the first edition of Zinn’s most popular work, A Peoples History of the United States. It now sells more than 100,000 copies a year and is used as a replacement for standard textbooks in many college and high school history classes! A Peoples History was born from Zinn’s disappointment with the limited perspective offered by traditional history books and from his goal to give an outlook onto American history from the eyes of those who have often been oppressed by the people and events glorified in standard history textbooks. In particular A People’s History looks at situations such as the abuses of Native American peoples by the early European invasion and by U.S. expansion, as well as the struggles of the enslaved against slavery, women against patriarchal oppression, Trade Unions and other worker organizations against capitalist greed, and of African-Americans in the Civil Rights movement.
If you want to read a real history book, read Howard Zinn's A People's History of the United States. That book will knock you on your ass.
- actor Matt Damon character Will Hunting confronting his psychologist in the film Good Will Hunting
If you want to read a real history book, read Howard Zinn's A People's History of the United States. That book will knock you on your ass.
- actor Matt Damon character Will Hunting confronting his psychologist in the film Good Will Hunting
The Iraq War and the Growing Appreciation for Zinn’s Ideas
In more recent years Howard Zinn has written a number of books explaining his opposition to the U.S invasion and occupation of Iraq. Comparing the growing resistance to the Iraq war by a increasing number of U.S. families to a similar phenomena of protest against corporate war profiteering in the Civil War, Zinn has likewise asserted that the U.S. occupation of and war with Iraq will end when resistance from within the armed services themselves increases as it did in the war with Vietnam.
In a 2003 commemoration of the sale of the millionth copy of A People’s History a dramatic reading of sections of the book was held in New York City including readings by such well-known names as writers Alice Walker and Kurt Vonnegut, the director and occasional actor Andre Gregory, and actors and actresses Danny Glover, James Earl Jones, Myla Pitt, Marisa Tomei, Alfre Woodard, and Harris Yulin. The commemoration aired on Democracy Now! and has also been released as a book and CD titled, The People Speak: American Voices, Some Famous, Some Little Known, and has inspired a series of similar celebrity readings of A People’s History around the nation.
In a 2003 commemoration of the sale of the millionth copy of A People’s History a dramatic reading of sections of the book was held in New York City including readings by such well-known names as writers Alice Walker and Kurt Vonnegut, the director and occasional actor Andre Gregory, and actors and actresses Danny Glover, James Earl Jones, Myla Pitt, Marisa Tomei, Alfre Woodard, and Harris Yulin. The commemoration aired on Democracy Now! and has also been released as a book and CD titled, The People Speak: American Voices, Some Famous, Some Little Known, and has inspired a series of similar celebrity readings of A People’s History around the nation.
Zinn’s biographyYou Can't Be Neutral on a Moving Train was the basis for the 2004 biographical documentary film Howard Zinn: You Can't Be Neutral on a Moving Train. The film’s narrator actor Matt Damon had lived next to the Zinn’s at his childhood home in West Newton, Massachusetts and made it a point to mention A People’s History in his film Good Will Hunting.
Several other recent books and other productions have sprung from A People’s History, including: Voices of a People’s History of the United States (written with Anthony Arnove), an expansion of and companion to the original book - including a large collection of other dissenting voices. Further a six-part television series documentary version of A People’s History has been released as well as a two-volume illustrated version of the original textbook, A Young People’s History of the United States.
Several other recent books and other productions have sprung from A People’s History, including: Voices of a People’s History of the United States (written with Anthony Arnove), an expansion of and companion to the original book - including a large collection of other dissenting voices. Further a six-part television series documentary version of A People’s History has been released as well as a two-volume illustrated version of the original textbook, A Young People’s History of the United States.
Zinn Today
Zinn’s idealism embraces elements of socialism, Marxism, and anarchism and at heart appears deeply dedicated to values such as Compassion, Justice and respect for the individual. He is Professor Emeritus in the Political Science Department at Boston University and lives in the Auburndale neighborhood of Newton, Massachusetts. Howard’s wife of 64 years, the artist Roslyn Zinn, helped with the editing of all of Professor Zinn’s books and several of his articles. Sadly she passed away in May of 2008. Howard has two children Myla and Jeff, and five grandchildren.
Besides the great number of important books that he has written and edited during his teaching and activism work, Howard Zinn has also written three well-received plays. Professor Zinn has received several significant awards and acknowledgements for his work and writings, and along with being the topic of several films has also been referenced in several pop culture songs by bands such as Pearl Jam and System of the Down.
Copyright 2007, Just Say Gnome!, Steve Herrington
Besides the great number of important books that he has written and edited during his teaching and activism work, Howard Zinn has also written three well-received plays. Professor Zinn has received several significant awards and acknowledgements for his work and writings, and along with being the topic of several films has also been referenced in several pop culture songs by bands such as Pearl Jam and System of the Down.
Copyright 2007, Just Say Gnome!, Steve Herrington