[Springboard] the man who changed the consciousness of a generation

[Forrest Craver]

*HOWARD ZINN –“THE MAN WHO CHANGED THE CONSCIOUSNESS OF A GENERATION”* – is
an American historian and professor emeritus in the Political Science
Department at Boston University.
The author of more than 20 books, including -- *A Peoples’ History of the
United States,* Zinn has been a stand out activist in the civil rights,
civil liberties and anti-war movements in the United States. He has written
compellingly on all three subjects. He has influenced and mentored dozens of
today’s national leaders.

*ZINN AS CIVIL RIGHTS ACTIVIST*
In 1956, Zinn was appointed chairman of the department of history and social
sciences at Spelman College where he participated in the Civil Rights
Movement. Zinn lobbied with historian August Meier to end the practice of
the Southern Historical Association of holding meetings at segregated
hotels.

At Spelman, Zinn served as an adviser to Student Nonviolent Coordinating
Committee (SNCC) and, in 1964, wrote the book *SNCC: The New
Abolitionists.*He collaborated with historian Staughton Lynd and
mentored young student
activists, among them writer Alice Walker and Marian Wright Edelman, founder
and president of the Children’s Defense Fund.

*Although Zinn was a tenured professor, he was dismissed,* in June 1963,
after siding with students in their desire to challenge Spelman's
traditional emphasis of turning out "young ladies" when, as Zinn described
in an article in The Nation, Spelman students were likely to be found on the
picket line, or in jail for participating in the greater effort to break
down segregation in public places in Atlanta.

Zinn's years at Spelman are recounted in his autobiography *You Can't Be
Neutral on a Moving Train: A Personal History of Our Times*. His seven years
at Spelman College, Zinn said, "are probably the most interesting, exciting,
most educational years for me. I learned more from my students than my
students learned from me."

Zinn wrote frequently about the struggle for civil rights, both as a
participant and historian His second book, *The Southern Mystique,* was
published in 1964, the same year as his book on the Student Nonviolent
Coordinating Committee (SNCC). In the book on SNCC, Zinn describes how the
sit-ins against segregation were initiated by students and, in that sense,
independent of the older, more established civil rights organizations.

*HOWARD ZINN AS ANTI WAR ACTIVIST*

Fresh from writing two books about his research, observations, and
participation in the Civil Rights movement in the South, Zinn accepted a
position in the political science department at Boston University in 1964.

His classes in civil liberties *were among the most popular offered at BU
with as many as 400 students subscribing each semester to the non-required
class.* He taught at BU for 24 years and retired in 1988. Zinn wrote one of
the earliest books calling for the U.S. withdrawal from the war: *Vietnam:
The Logic of Withdrawal* was published by Beacon Press in 1967.

*HOWARD ZINN AND VIETNAM*

Zinn's diplomatic visit to Hanoi with Rev. Daniel Berrigan during the Tet
Offensive in January 1968, resulted in the return of three American airmen,
the first American POWs released by the North Vietnamese since the U.S.
bombing of that nation had begun. The event was widely reported in the news
media. Zinn remained friends and allies with the brothers Dan and Philip
over the years.

Daniel Ellsberg, a former RAND consultant who had secretly copied The
Pentagon Papers, which described internal planning and policy decisions of
the United States in the Vietnam War, gave a copy of them to Howard and
Roslyn Zinn. Along with Noam Chomsky, Zinn edited and annotated the copy of
The Pentagon Papers that Ellsberg entrusted to him. Zinn's longtime
publisher, Beacon Press, published what has come to be known as Senator Mike
Gravel edition of The Pentagon Papers.

At Ellsberg's criminal trial in connection with the publication of the
Pentagon Papers by The New York Times, Zinn was called as an expert witness
to explain to the jury the history of U.S. involvement in Vietnam from World
War II to 1963. Zinn discussed that history for several hours, later
reflecting on his time before the jury.

"I explained there was nothing in the papers of military significance that
could be used to harm the defense of the United States, that the information
in them was simply embarrassing to our government because what was revealed,
in the government's own interoffice memos, was how it had lied to the
American public" Most of the jurors later said they voted for acquittal.
However, the federal judge dismissed the case on the grounds it had been
tainted by President Nixon's administration's burglary of the office of
Ellsberg's psychiatrist.

Zinn supported the G.I. antiwar movement during the U.S. war in Vietnam. In
the 2001 film Unfinished Symphony, Zinn provides historical context for the
1971 antiwar march by Vietnam Veterans against the War. The marchers
traveled from Lexington, Massachusetts, to Bunker Hill, "which retraced Paul
Revere's ride of 1775 and ended in the massive arrest of 410 veterans and
civilians by the Lexington police." The film depicts "scenes from 1971,
during which former G.I.s testified about “atrocities" they either
participated in or witnessed in Vietnam.

*HOWARD ZINN OPPOSES IRAQ WAR*

Zinn opposed the invasion and occupation of Iraq. He wrote several books
about it. He asserts that the U.S. will end its war with, and occupation of,
Iraq when resistance within the military increases, in the same way
resistance within the military contributed to ending the U.S. war in
Vietnam. He compares the demand by a growing number of contemporary U.S.
military families to end the war in Iraq to the parallel "in the Confederacy
in the Civil War, *when the wives of soldiers rioted because their husbands
were dying and the plantation owners were profiting from the sale of cotton,
refusing to grow grains for civilians to eat."*

Zinn argued that "There is no flag large enough to cover the shame of
killing innocent people for a purpose which is unattainable."

His historical work is highly influential and widely used. He continues to
be a much sought after speaker on college campuses and weighs in on current
events.

As a historian, Zinn came to believe that the point of view expressed in
traditional history books was far too limited and one-sided. He wrote a
history textbook, *A People's History of the United States*, aimed at
providing a more honest narrative of American history.

His textbook depicts the struggles of Native Americans against European and
U.S. conquest and expansion, slaves against slavery, unionists and other
workers against capitalists, women against patriarchy, and African-Americans
for civil rights.

*Since the first publication in 1980 of A People's History, it has been used
as an alternative to standard textbooks in many high school and college
history courses.

This great work strands alone as the greatest example of critical pedagogy.
According to the New York Times Book Review it "routinely sells more than
100,000 copies a year, nearly 30 years later."/b>

In 2004, Zinn published Voices of a People's History of the United States
with Anthony Arnove. Voices expands on the concept and provides a large
collection of dissident voices in long form. The book is intended as a
companion to A People's History --and parallels its structure.

In 2009 a movie was released -- "The People Speak" inspired from the book
with live performances by Howard Zinn and Hollywood stars Matt Damon and
Morgan Freeman. Based on his autobiography is You Can't Be Neutral on a
Moving Train.

A biographical documentary film called Howard Zinn: You Can't Be Neutral on
a Moving Train (2004) was shown in select theaters. The film was narrated by
actor Matt Damon who lived next door to the Zinns as a child in West Newton,
Massachusetts. Damon included a reference to A People's History in his film
Good Will Hunting Damon also read the latter half of People's History for an
audio book released February 1, 2003.

In the film, Noam Chomsky says Zinn "changed the consciousness of a
generation."

*
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