A people’s history of Howard Zinn

I got home from a WSM meeting last night to discover via Facebook that Howard Zinn had just died.  In the twelve hours since hundreds of my FB friends have posted reactions to this enormous loss and links to his material.  Reproducing these spontaneous and often heartfelt reactions here seems a fitting way of marking the death of the man who wrote "We don’t have to engage in grand, heroic actions to participate in the process of change. Small acts, when multiplied by millions of people, can transform the world."

Scattered through the updates are Youtube videos of Zinn and quotations from him that people have posted to Facebook.  At the end I’ve also included links to material by Zinn people have posted and quotations from him.  The status updates are listed in the reverse order to how I received them (i.e. the first are at the bottom of this post) and in some cases are comments on status updates as well as the updates themselves.  They are mostly from the US and Ireland, BTW if anyone wants to be removed from the list just email me at andrewnflood ATgmail.com

For those who hadn’t heard of Zinn he was a radical historial and anti war & civil rights activist probably best known for writing ‘A People’s History of the United States‘, a book everyone should read.  He’d been the bomb aimer in US bombers during World War II and later investigated the effects of some of the bombing raids he participated in, including one that saw the first use of napalm in Europe in a 1200 bomber raid on a French town near the end of the war.  His parents were migrant factor workers but he was able to use the post-war GI bill to go to college where his master’s thesis looked at the 1914 Colorado coal strikes. As an academic he became involved with the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) and took part in sit ins in Georgia. During the Vietnam war he visited Hanoi with Daniel Berrigan and with Noam Chomsky edited / annotated the Pentagon Papers, top secret leaked documents which revealed the secret bombing of Laos and Cambodia which had not been reported in the US media. He remained active and opposed the war and occupation of Iraq.

The sense of Zinn the activist is probably best captured in Daniel Ellsberg post ‘A Memory of Howard Zinn‘  It was Ellsberg who had secretly copied the Pentagon papers and Zinn and his wife Roz had hidden the paper for Ellsberg prior to publication.  From this;

Then one of the officers came over to Howard and said, “You’re Professor Zinn, aren’t you?” Howard said yes, and the officer reached down and shook his hand enthusiastically. He said, “I heard you lecture at the Police Academy. A lot of us here did. That was a wonderful lecture.” Howard had been asked to speak to them about the role of dissent and civil disobedience in American history. Several other policemen came over to pay their respects to Howard and thank him for his lecture. The mood seemed quite a bit different from Washington.

Then a line of employees emerged from the building, wearing coats and ties or dresses. Their arms were raised and they were holding cards in their raised hands. As they circled past us they hold out the cards so we could see what they were: ID cards, showing they were federal employees. They were making the peace-sign with their other hands, they were circling around the building to show solidarity with what we were doing. Their spokesman said over a bullhorn, “We want this war to be over, too! Thank you for what you are doing! Keep it up.” Photographers, including police, were scrambling to take pictures of them, and some of them held up their ID cards so they would get in the picture. It was the high point of the day.

A little while after the employees had gone back inside the building, there was a sudden shift in the mood of the police… But there was no arrest warning. There was a whistle, and the line of police began inching forward, black batons raised upright. They were going to walk through us or over us, push us back. The man in front of us, who had been talking to Howard about his lecture a little earlier, muttered to us under his breath, “Leave! Now! Quick, get up.” He was warning, not menacing us.

Howard and I looked at each other. We’d come expecting to get arrested. It didn’t seem right to just get up and move because someone told us to, without arresting us. We stayed where we were. No one else left either. Boots were touching our shoes. The voice over our heads whispered intensely, “Move! Please. For God’s sake, move!” Knees in uniform pressed our knees. I saw a club coming down. I put my hands over my head, fists clenched, and a four-foot baton hit my wrist, hard. Another one hit my shoulder.

I rolled over, keeping my arms over my head, got up and moved back a few yards. Howard was being hauled off by several policemen. One had Howard’s arms pinned behind him, another had jerked his head back by the hair. Someone had ripped his shirt in two, there was blood on his bare chest.. 

Glitter Ball – Howard Zinn RIP
Sam McGrath – RIP.
Deirdre Murphy – sad about howard zinn
Eif C – Bye bye Howard Zinn
Manuel Baptista via Andrew Flood: We all have been his students! May he rest in peace!
Joe Catron –  thanks Howard Zinn for opening the minds of millions. How fitting that you passed into eternity on this, a night when so many were reminded of the ultimate futility of bourgeois politics. Requiescat in pace.
Alessandra Giannini via Andrew Flood: ci mancherà molto.
Ian Martin – Thank you Howard Zinn there are no words. one thing that made him so special is how he never lost hope, never lost his positivity, despite all the injustices he witnessed. that spark in his eyes and warmth in his voice will be missed. thank you howard

Chris Martin – A People’s History of American Empire, by Howard Zinn

Ian Martin – Still bummed about Zinn, but in my imagination there’s a concert going on up in heaven tonight. Zinn is telling one of his stories about people’s struggles and Joe strummer is providing the tunes
Mische Litvak – howard zinn is dead so i have to get drunk immediately
Michael Chisari – 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.
Todd C. M. Stone – RIP Howard Z.
Warren Conatser Echevarria – guy had a fascinating life
Deric Shannon – We lost Howard Zinn today. We lost a lot today.
Brendan K via Steve Ongerth: RIP Howard Zinn
Brenden S. – Good-Bye Howard Zinn. Thank you for all of your wonderful work and helping give perspective to this ridiculous country of ours!
Jeremy Lightell -:(
Wyatt Niehaus – Oh my god.
Aubrey Colson – A terrible loss…
Jennifer Quintana – oh wow! 🙁
Danny Eberhardt -i am sadden
Mike Eakins – truly a sad day
Nathan Oyler – a very sad day.
Deric Shannon – Awful news.

"I can UNDERSTAND pessimism, but I don’t BELIEVE in it. It’s not simply a matter of faith, but of historical EVIDENCE. Not overwhelming evidence, just enough to give HOPE, because for hope we don’t need certainty, only POSSIBILITY."

Michelle Corbett – a huge loss.
Jake Wood – this makes me sad…what an amazing person to have lost
Paul Kane – heartbreaking
Brett Jarczyk – Howard Zinn and the voices of the people will not be forgotten!
Jacques Johnson – a life changing historian….. thank you Dr. Zinn
Donovan Jenkins – What an amazing man. 🙁
Michelle Landers – Such a loss.
Beata Tsosie-Pena – I will be forever grateful for his work
Cameron Hughes – rest in peace, comrade.
Hugh Jasoll – He will live on and so will his influence
Greg Alt – is on a train and takin’ sides. Thanks Howard Zinn.
Alvaro Maldonado via Kenneth Hall: – thank you for all the gifts you gave us Howard Zinn!
Nathan Moore – My heart goes out to Professor Zinn’s family. Like so many Americans, I was profoundly influenced by "A People’s History of the United States." Thank you Howard for a lifetime of speaking out for the workers, the poor, and the oppressed.
Brett Jarczyk – What a sad day. I could feel it in the air.
Nicolas Phebus via Miguel Gosselin Dionne: Oh shit. Grosse perte pour la gauche radicale américaine.

Leah Doherty Howard Zinn on Activism: "Don’t Give Up"

Matt McLaughlin – Howard Zinn, 1922-2010. PRESENTE
Nicholas Kemper – Rest in peace, Howard. You will be greatly missed!
Pablo Avendaño – Perhaps one of the greatest human beings of our time. He had a tremendous impact on my life even though I never met him. Through his books I discovered a more complete and dynamic sense of history. He embodied the concept of praxis. I hope that as a educator I can contribute as much to the struggle for human libera…tion as he did. He will be greatly missed and not soon
Cha Cha DiGregorio – RIP Howard Zinn.
Jed Brandt — Howard Zinn wrote ‘A People’s History of the United States’ to tell the side of the story we actually live on.
Andrew Byrne – RIP Howard Zinn
Michael Hughes – We’ve lost a true hero. RIP, Howard. You did a damn good job.
David O’Connell – RIP Howard Zinn
Evan W. Wolfson – I don’t agree with everything he stood for, but he was a very important figure with a great critique of U.S. history from the perspective of working people and the oppressed.
Angelica Nieves – howard zinn died today and so did a bit of my heart. RIP, we will continue where you left off….
William Whyte – Sorry to hear about Howard Zinn.
Bree At Last Johnson – I’m gonna miss you. 🙁

"’I would try to be fair to other points of view, but I wanted more than "objectivity"; I wanted students to leave my classes not just better informed, but more prepared to relinquish the safety of silence, more prepared to speak up, to act against injustice wherever they saw it.’"

Yaniv Kleinman – simply one of the greatest Americans of our time. He will not be replaced — or soon forgotten. How we loved him back.
Ginny Browne – Thank you, Howard Zinn. ♥
Robyn Calder – RIP Howard Zinn. I’m sure you are watching this moment in history from a special place in heaven…
Yaniv Kleinman –  One of this country’s finest public intellectuals is gone: RIP Howard Zinn. I first read him when I was only 15, still in high school and beginning to question everything I had been taught about U.S. history. To say that his life and work inspired countless of people would be an understatement – he truly did not waste his time here on earth.
Matt Hart – Howard Zinn passed away and Ojore was arrested on his way home from visiting. Mixed with sadness and anger
Diane Krasnodebski via Charngchi Way: shit, I just found out

Christine Karatnytsky posted "On Human Nature and Aggression."

Paul Dalton – One of my greatest heroes has passed. Howard Zinn was one of the great minds, a man who looked at history not as tales of triumph, but as the stories of normal people, the struggles of the everyday- who never despaired over the possibilities for radical transformation. more
James Birmingham – RIP Howard Zinn
Harjit Singh Gill – In loving memory of Howard Zinn who just passed at 87. He has been so vital to so many of us. Rest in peace and thank you for everything.

"To be hopeful in bad times is not just foolishly romantic. It is based on the fact that human history is a history not only of cruelty, but also of compassion, sacrifice, courage, kindness… And if we do act, we don’t have to wait for some grand utopian future. The future is an infinite succession of presents."– posted by Camilo Viveiros

Isaac Miller – RIP Howard Zinn. You were one of the best of us. Your legacy will continue to shape how we see our world.
Deirdre Murphy via Paul McAndrew: so long, mr. zinn… rip
Atle Mikkola Kjøsen – R.I.P. Howard Zinn.
Dave Rose – Howard was indeed one beautiful and compassionate human being.
Ricky Grams via Adam Welch: Saw him speak at Macalester College in St. Paul in the mid 90s. He was a huge influence on me and is how I came across anarchism. RIP.
Ian Martin – R.I.P. Howard Zinn. I’m super sad right now. One of the big influences in my life and someone you could tell was a genuinely good person. The world will miss him.
George Ramirez – Really sad to hear that, huge influence on me too. His People’s History of the United States was amazing. I loved how he never stopped fighting for social justice, and kept on writing till the end.
Gwendolyn Carson – The world is a better place for his having been here. Shall miss him.
Wendy Leith – FUCK! god damn it.
senia b.-  "We don’t have to engage in grand, heroic actions to participate in the process of change. Small acts, when multiplied by millions of people, can transform the world…" RIP Howard Zinn

Jaggi Singh posted "We can persuade them by scaring them."

Farah فرح مخترعیزاده Mokhtareizadeh – has 
fond, fond memories of Dr. Zinn. His passing is very sad. Ensha’Allah
his work inspired others to be courageous advocates for ‘the people’.
Thank you for everything dear Howard, you will surely be missed!
Mark Bray – RIP Howard Zinn
Amy Greene –  R.I.P. Howard Zinn- thank you for all of your good work! Still have my copy of "A People’s History of the United States" that I’ve had since December 1993.
Aidan Rowe – RIP Howard Zinn.
Christine Karatnytsky – Howard Zinn presente!
Annominous Augury – I hope I can do good things that make people want to remember and speak highly of me and die when I’m older than 85. ♥ Well done, Mr. Zinn.
Daniel Cull – This is very sad news… Howard Zinn Presente!
Seomra Spraoi – Howard Zinn RIP
Janky Hellface RIP – Howard Zinn… 🙁
Andrej Grubacic – Howard Zinn died of a heart attack today.
David Buccola – What a sad day.
Megan Fisher Redington – oh oh! no. sad.
Grace Kristine Kavanah – Nooooooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 🙁
Liz Highleyman – very sad…
Michael Toal – Damn.
Joseph Cardwell – Much love for this man. What a great American.
John Di Barrio – very, very sad
Elizabeth Ω Kaplan – Iconoclast doesn’t do him justice.
John Cline – This is a great loss. Zinn was an inspiration.
Grazia Francioli Bittner – thanks! may he never be forgotten–a true Patriot!
Ron Jacobs – a good honest man
Frau Dietrich – Wow! Loved him!
Dennis Brasky Kobray – there will be others, but they will stand on Zinn’s shoulders!
Nick Gilliam – : (
Alfred Kovnat – He was a great man, he will be missed by everyone that has a conscience
Matthew Smyth – VIVA ZINN

"On the Reality of War"

Abraham Greenhouse – RIP Howard Zinn
Rann Bar-On – fuck. That really sad news 🙁
Janine Russo – He was truely a great historian! He will be missed!
Yasmin Thelight – howard zinn died today. this physical world has thus lost one serious badass of a human. very few people have influenced my life in such a marked and sharp way as he did. let his life’s legacy serve as a reminder that revolution is neither static nor singular, and that well-crafted thoughts and artfully arranged words are powerful beyond measure.

"To recall this [history] is to remind people of what the establishment would like them to forget – the enormous capacity of apparently helpless people to resist, of apparently contented people to demand change. To uncover such history is to find a powerful human impulse to assert one’s humanity. It is to hold out, even in times of deep pessimism, the possibility of surprise." –  posted by John MacLean

Alison Parker – I am so despondent about this but grateful for his influence in helping shape my lifeviews.
Abbey Volcano – RIP Howie ♥
Clair Norton – nooooooo! 🙁
Adam Welch via Andrew Flood: sad face :”'(
Diana Pondivilla Victa – oh no. 🙁
Beth Hollingshead – I know! 🙁
Eduardo Juarez – This planet has lost a great man!
Harry Siitonen – If Zinn’s "Peoples History of the US" would be the standard history text in all American schools, this would be a helluva lot better country.
Armando Catalan – A great men, as a history student he has inspired me like many others to present history with a social conscience behind it, which is what we need to understand our current situation and to inspired ordinary popele to wake up and mobilize to bring real change, a movement and not a leader, a great lost indeed. Rest in peace comrade Zinn you will be missed but he will live forever in spirit.
Claudia Lopez – 🙁
Liz Highleyman – R.I.P. activist author Howard Zinn
Jane DeNeefe – NO WAY!!!!
Susan Chervitz Migliorini – i just saw this….so fast, it seems. we had just watched "the people speak on history" recently and thought "he seems such a young 80-something….
Stephanie Berger – WOW… what a lose… I had the opportunity to work with him in the mid 80’s what a brilliant man… wow – I am speechless… his insight an vision will be sorely missed
Sharla Shotwell – Thanks for the news, albeit how sad it is, Stephanie wow – what an amazing person to work with … may he always RIP – Blessings to All.

"I draw upon historical experience to suggest that the apparent power of governments and corporations is in fact fragile, that it rests on theobedience of the citizenry, and when that obedience is withdrawn,extraordinary change can take place." posted by Harris Bucklin

Fred Vaughn – That is a loss.
Jennifer Holmes – WHAT??? Aw man…
Wayne Bryant – Oh god, no! Damn, we just saw him a few days ago at the movies. Very sad.
Anna Bergman – Seems a good way to go for someone who lived a full, passionate life.
Jules Marsh – Thanks for the heads up. It’s a big loss. =(
Daniel Frontino Elash – …the good dont always die young, do they? 😉
Maegdlyn Morris – A great mind….
Abbey Volcano via Charngchi Way: Guess he’s not getting that copy of "Emma" he asked for…
Ajax Unruled – I hate this.
Marcus Jacobson – boo!
David Buccola – Sad day. We lost a good one.
Marty Moore – Too sad…
Adam Matlock – I thought for sure he’d out live me.
Angela DiGiulio – we’ll miss him!
John MacLean – As Joe Hill said in a song, just "take a notion…"

"I start from the supposition that the world is topsy-turvy, that things are all wrong, that the wrong people are in jail and the wrong people are out of jail, that the wrong people are in power and the wrong people are out of power, that the wealth is distributed in this country and the world in such a way as not simp…ly to require small reform but to require a drastic reallocation of wealth. I start from the supposition that we don’t have to say too much about this because all we have to do is think about the state of the world today and realize that things are all upside down. Daniel Berrigan is in jail-A Catholic priest, a poet who opposes the war-and J. Edgar Hoover is free, you see. David Dellinger, who has opposed war ever since he was this high and who has used all of his energy and passion against it, is in danger of going to jail. The men who are responsible for the My Lai massacre are not on trial; they are in Washington serving various functions, primary and subordinate, that have to do with the unleashing of massacres, which surprise them when they occur. At Kent State University four students were killed by the National Guard and students were indicted. In every city in this country, when demonstrations take place, the protesters, whether they have demonstrated or not, whatever they have done, are assaulted and clubbed by police, and then they are arrested for assaulting a police officer." posted by Michael Effing McGehee

Harris Bucklin – I am so very sad at this news. Reading Howard Zinn was one of the single most influential moments of my life.
Marilana Rufo – Noooooo. He is my hero.
Michael Effing McGehee – Howard Zinn: One of the kindest, gentlest, down to earth, coolest people to have taken residence on this planet. While kids in garages fantasize about playing guitar with their heroes I dreamt of just listening to Bob Dylan records with him and shooting the shit.
Dave Rose -He was a wonderful human being who cared so much about people — ALL people!
Matthew Snyder -Zinn: Radical, lefty . . . an equalitist to the core. We’ll miss you beautiful fucker.
James Redmond – Howard Zinn is dead. A loss.
Fergal Scullier – Yeah definitly RIP
Michael Chisari – Howard Zinn died?!?
Raechel Tiffe – omg.
Abraham Greenhouse – 🙁
Oliver Sheppard – I know… 🙁
Eric AntiFa – WHAT!? When?!

"There is no flag large enough to cover the shame of killing innocent people." posted by Mike Jackson

Curt Bastian – I just read it in the New York Times. As a person with my BA in history, it is a very sad day. He revolutionized history, by writing from the peoples perspective, not the elites.
Jamie Koplin – I’m completely blown back by this. It’s so so so sad. A legend is lost. 🙁
John Pickens-Green – Ack!
Alex Niculescu – RIP Howard zinn.
Ryan Parker – Unlike, unlike!
Brandon Lacy Campos – OH NO! Are you fucking for real?
Brian McCracken – 🙁
Stanley A. Archacki III – He will be sorely missed.
Donnacha DeLong – Howard Zinn dies aged 87 – RIP Comrade.
Sean Rovaldi – D’oh. R.I.P. Howard
Nate Holdren – Sad news.

Nathan Moore posted "War is the greatest terrorism"

Alicia Gibson – Thanks for posting Nate. Long life, full of little and big acts of courage. We should all be so lucky, we should all be so committed.
Odhran Gavin – awh fuck, just heard howard zinn died. one of my favourite historians. "a people’s history of the usa" should be required reading for all history students
Wes Harbaugh – He was supposed to speak at my University in oh, three days….dang…
Megan Smith – NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Frank Piccirillo – He will be missed. RIP
Edward Miller – Yikes! R.I.P. and thanks for the contributions you made to real history
Kara Wooldridge – he was great.
Mike Jackson – Howard Zinn, if we ever build peace you’ll be with us then.
Aileen O’Carroll – Is sad to hear of Howard zinn’s death. 87 is a good innings but it’s sad all the same. There aren’t enough people like him in the world.
Paul Finch – RIP Howard Zinn

Howard Zinn on Civil Disobedience

 

Mark Conroy via Andrew Flood: Ah, man. This is such bad, bad, bad news. I was only thinking about this happening yesterday. I’ve a few emails from him (and am putting one of his articles in my Transition Year book), he was always most helpful and approachable.
Andrew Flood – Sad news, we were trying to get him to speak at the Dublin anarchist bookfair this year, his A People’s History of the United States was a great contribution
Kieran Holland – ah shit, I just got his book about the history of America :/
Miriam Cotton – Really sad to hear about this.
senia b. via Sarah Wald: rest in peace howard zinn…you changed my life! and will do so for multiple generations to come! see you on the other side…
Redjade InHungary –  Very sad. I read this guy’s book ‘A People’s History of the United States’ in high school and changed my view of the world ever since. I am sorry that I never met him in person. Everyone should read that book. R.I.P
Angela Coraccio –  is crushed that Howard Zinn passed away. RIP Howard Zinn. You were a great, great man. I saw him once, and LOVED it. He’s such an inspiration in a hundred ways.
Anna Cimini – what!!!
Christina M. Cameron – Wow wow wow, this is news to me… glad to have had so many chances to hear him speak.
Kristina Whittredge Flaherty – oh NO really!

Articles by and interviews with Zinn

• A People’s History of the United States (full text)
• Democracy now! interview from Nov 11 2009
• On War and Social Justice
• I Wish Obama Would Listen to MLK
• Howard Zinn on Obama, McCain, and the State of American Politics
• An Interview with Howard Zinn on Anarchism
• Israel and America Terrorize the World
• Howard Zinn interviewed by Dave Zirin
• A Just Cause ≠ A Just War
• The poisons of Nationalism
• War is the Health of the State: An Interview with Howard Zinn

Writings about Zinn

• Howard Zinn: The People’s Historian
• Zinn has died: Long live ‘Zinn’
• Howard Zinn: The Historian Who Made History
• Howard Zinn: Remember, Emulate
• A Memory of Howard Zinn
• Howard Zinn Biography
• Howard Zinn (1922–2010): A Tribute to the Legendary Historian with Noam Chomsky, Alice Walker, Naomi Klein and Anthony Arnove

Zinn Education Project