howard zinn « Letters from Grenada

howard zinn

“Howard Zinn, the historian and author and one of the last remaining leftists from the Leftists Had Balls era, has died at 87.” (The Wonkette)

When my brother was in college he had a talk radio news-but-mostly-fly-the-seat-of-his-pants-political-commentary show. Because it was college radio he basically got to do whatever he wanted.

One of the great moments of his show was the time he got to interview Howard Zinn. I was all, ZOMG WHAT WAS THAT LIKE? His answer was a terse “very intimidating”.

My dogeared copy of A People’s History of the United States is a prize possession. I read it in high school as part of an American history independent study and it forever colored the way I see the world. Zinn is half the reason I got a degree in history and all the reason I don’t take any “news” or history books at face value.

To me, the core of Zinn’s message is this: Responsible citizenship is an active rather than passive endeavor, “accepted” history is not sacrosanct, and we should all, as loudly as possible, share our own stories. As more voices are heard and recorded, the closer we get to a complete and accurate picture. And that’s precisely why I’m sweating blood writing about my grandparents. Because I feel a deep obligation to contribute to that picture, in whatever small, personal way I can.

It’s for all that that I honor Professor Zinn, may he rest in peace.