Zinn died from a heart attack last week at the age of 87. The world doesn't feel quite the same without this truly extraordinary man.
A radical with a bold, original, alternative take on American history. An outstanding professor. A longtime, quintessential activist who never stopped fighting for social justice. A naturally captivating speaker - whether at a huge outdoor rally or in a lecture hall. A truth-seeking idealist. A prolific writer of articles and books. A playwright. A man with the courage of his convictions.
Zinn stood out - that's for sure.
In the past 30 years, Zinn attracted much attention for his best-selling book: A People's History of the United States. In fact, he just helped complete a documentary film production based on speeches excerpted from the book that were performed by well-know Hollywood actors. It was called The People Speak and aired on The History Channel in December, 2009.
I became acquainted with Zinn while I was an undergraduate student at Boston University from 1977 - 1979. I didn't know Zinn well on a personal level; I spoke with him one-on-one only a handful of times, including one unusual meeting in his office when I requested his advice. But, he certainly seemed like a decent, thoughtful man. I did grow very familiar with Zinn by observing him - at demonstrations, meetings and his involvement in campus politics.
I enrolled in Zinn's popular, large lecture course called "Law and Justice," and I vividly recall how surprised I was, when, at the start of one of the classes, Zinn suddenly announced that we would all be attending a demonstration, down the street, on the BU campus. I don't recall the subject of the rally, but I recall thinking: "Wow, this Zinn guy IS unusual. That took some chutzpah to just lead our entire, large lecture class to a protest rally without knowing anyone's reaction to his suggestion."
The incident was one of my many glimpses of Zinn's unconventionality. He was determined to give his students a different interpretation of public events and historical episodes. Zinn wanted us to raise questions and think about things from different angles - and he succeeded at it.
Zinn stood out at BU not only for his talents and approach, but, because he was one of only a few willing to publicly criticize the controversial BU President, John Silber. Silber and Zinn were polar opposites. Silber, a brilliant, tough-talking Texan, ran BU like a tyrant. Silber quashed whatever and whoever got in his way. He didn't tolerate dissent - period. Zinn was all about dissent - practicing it and teaching it.
Silber alienated virtually every constituency at BU. Large portions of the BU faculty and staff seemed intimidated by Silber - for good reason. He often fired people he disliked. Zinn, meanwhile, was one of the most popular professors on campus. He had become a "legend" of sorts for his left-wing positions and activism. Zinn had a very good sense of humor and often joked about people or institutions he ripped. (He made teaching his version of history fun and accessible). So, Zinn, on occasion, blasted Silber in spontaneous, candid phrases, but, often, he'd inject a bit of humor as well. To Zinn, Silber was a nearby representation of the kind of injustice he made it his business to oppose elsewhere. Zinn became the advisor to the student radical newspaper called BU Exposure - a newspaper Silber tried to hinder frequently.
Zinn surfaced in a variety of activities and forums to support anti-Silber sentiments that percolated regularly across BU. Zinn, for example, was a loyal, involved member of the BU faculty union and visible, active supporter of other labor unions on campus. For instance, Zinn was a leader in the 1979 faculty strike at BU, but, then, when the clerical workers, represented by District 65 of the SEIU, went out on strike months later, Zinn was one of only a few professors who absolutely refused to cross their picket lines. He held his classes outside or anywhere necessary to avoid crossing pickets. Silber, at times, seemed very annoyed by Zinn.
There were two occasions - once in 1976 and once in 1979 - when there were campus-wide efforts to remove Silber as BU President.
I'll never forget the spring of 1979 at BU. It was a year of tremendous labor unrest at BU (five strikes!), and anti-Silber sentiment had evolved into a "Dump-Silber" movement. Zinn was one of a good-sized "core group" of active participants in the movement. That spring, with "60 Minutes" cameras rolling, a teach-in was held one night in the Morse Auditorium. One speaker after another took the microphone to spill out their group's grievances against Silber. I know Zinn spoke that night and I know he was, in his typically top form, charismatic, persuasive and compelling. I don't recall details of any speeches; it was 31 years ago.....but, it was a moment when Zinn was in his element. He rose to that occasion.
After I left BU, I always kept track of Zinn. I read his articles, year after year, as they appeared in left-leaning periodicals like The Nation, Progressive, Z and others. I could always count on Zinn to express an original, unconventional point of view on current events. Or, I'd catch up on his earlier accomplishments - like his days in the Student Non-violent Coordinatring Committee (SNCC) a civil rights organization Zinn got involved in while a professor at Spelman College in Atlanta, Ga. OR his intensive involvement protesting against the Vietnam War. Zinn usually criticized Presidents - Republican or Democrat - because they implemented the same basic foreign policy principles he opposed. He argued passionately against interventionist wars from US involvement in El Salvador to the invasion of Iraq.
A few years ago, I learned that Zinn was one of the speakers slated to appear at a rally focused on the cause of impeaching George W. Bush for his invasion of Iraq. Cindy Sheehan and others were on the agenda, but, I was motivated to rush a 45-minute drive into Boston to attend only to see Zinn. I recall sprinting across Boston Common, afraid that I had missed Zinn's remarks, but, thankfully, he was just starting as I arrived. Though Zinn was close to his mid-80s, I was amazed at how good he sounded that day and how comfortable he seemed in his familiar role. He ripped into the Bush crowd for the unfounded, insane war they had started. He held nothing back - one harsh, blunt truth after another. It was a joy to hear. I applauded and marveled at how rare a person Zinn was. He spoke no more than 20 minutes, but, I left a few minutes later feeling invigorated and a tiny bit more hopeful that change was possible again.
That recollection reminds me of an earlier moment Zinn impacted me regarding Iraq. It was the winter of 2003 and it seemed the whole country was supporting the Bush Administration's planned invasion of Iraq. I didn't understand why the US was going after Iraq rather than focusing on Al Quaeda. It made no sense, but, I was confused why so many people - including US senators and US representatives - were supporting the war. I had heard so much news about Saddam Hussein's repeated disregarding of UN resolutions and the potential dangers he posed that I recall moments of pausing briefly in uncertainty and questioning my own stand on Iraq. Then, I happened to watch Zinn being interviewed on Bill Moyers' Now on Jan. 10, 2003. It was around the time Zinn had just written a book called Terrorism and War.
When the interview was over, my anti-war impulses felt stronger than ever. In fact, I felt, honestly, that Zinn, in that one interview, had led me to a more full-fledged opposition to war, in general, than I had ever felt in my life. To this day, I'm grateful for hearing Zinn's wisdom on the subject of war.
Consider just a few samples from the Jan, 2003 Moyers' interview.
Moyers asked Zinn if he thought the US planned attack on Iraq was like what the terrorists did by driving airplane bombs into the World Trade Center.
Zinn: Well that's right. "I mean war is a form ot terrorism. I know there are people who don't like to equate - what was done- you know on September 11, 2001, they don't like to equate that with a war that the United States engaged in. Sure, they're different. But they're not different in the - in the fundamental principal that drives the terrorists and that is, they're saying, we're going to kill a lot of people but it will be worth it. We're trying to do something. We're trying to accomplish something. They - the terrorists are not killing people just for the sake of killling people, they have something in mind. To show that the American empire is vulnerable or to make some point about American policy in the Middle East. But they have an end in mind. We are doing the same thing. I mean, as I say, the details are different, but we are willing to kill a lot of people for some political end that we have declared...."
Then, a few minutes later, Moyers asking Zinn for his views on what might deter terrrorists.
Zinn: ".....Are terrorists going to be deterred-- are terrorists going to be scared if we react violently? No. They love it. That's what they dote on. They dote on violence. They dote on having more reasons to commit more terrorism. We solved the problem of the hostages in Iran by negotiations. You know? And there are many situations where we engage in violence and in wars that could be solved by negotiations..."
Zinn, in his book, Terrroism and War, apparently offered more of his thoughts on how to deal with the causes of terrorism.
"If we want to do something about terrorism, Zinn wrote, "we will have to do something about the grievances from which terrorism springs." Zinn made these remarks on C-Span, in an apparent discussion of his book.
In the book, Zinn complained that George W. Bush was ridiculously off-base to suggest that terrorists had attacked the US due to jealousy of Americans' freedom. He pointed out that terrorists had shown more interest in the US external actions - including about US troops being stationed in Saudi Arabia, the tremendous support the US had given Israel or the US sanctions against Iraq, which had hurt the country.
I grew to believe, through the years, that Howard Zinn was the most eloquent, powerful voice against war I've ever heard in my life. When he speaks about the meaninglessness and harm of war, he frames things beautifully and gives you an honest dose of "common sense" and wisdom that I wish everyone could hear. No one in Washington speaks the truth about war like Zinn.
Many of us go through life with goals and dreams of somehow having a real influence on other people's lives before we die. If our dreams relate to improving the human condition, well, that can feel even better to ponder.
Zinn died knowing he had an overwhelming impact on many people, and, even sweeter, his impact was often on the thinking, outlook and views of people - making his imprint even more likely to endure and live on. I'm sure many of Zinn's former students and his readers or audiences have been significantly influenced by his original outlook on history and humanity.
I'm convinced the best way we can honor Howard Zinn is to keep up his fight for social justice, each in our own way.
Zinn, in an interview, apparently, said he wanted to be remembered as "somebody who gave people a feeling of hope and power that they didn't have before."
Zinn gave me that feeling and I'll always remember how he shared his unique strengths with so, so many people.
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