Howard Zinn 1922 - 2010

"From the start, my teaching was infused with my own history. 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. This, of course, was a recipe for trouble." - Howard Zinn, You Can't Be Neutral on a Moving Train (1994).

It's hard to imagine a world without Howard Zinn, a singular human being and citizen of the planet. His penetrating and honest recounting of the hidden history of power in the USA and the world influenced millions. But now Zinn has died, in the fashion he lived much of his life - on the road, speaking and teaching.

The teacher has passed on, yet his lessons remain: imagining a better world was Zinn's message.

I never created the opportunity to hear him in person, something I now regret. This summer I read the graphic novel "A People's History Of American Empire," the latest iteration of themes first presented in Zinn's game-changing book "A People's History Of The United States." Highly recommended as an introduction to some real American history, with arresting visuals:

There will be hundreds of articles in the coming days, weeks and months reflecting on Zinn. Here's nice one from Fred Branfman at the Huffington Post:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/fred-branfman/howard-zinn-has-died-long_b_440480.html