Howard Zinn was born in 1922 in Brooklyn, New York, into a working-class family and, though he had few formal educational opportunities, he developed a strong social consciousness while working as a shipfitter and avidly reading the novels of Charles Dickens. Flying bombing missions in World War II shaped his opposition to war. After military service he earned a doctorate in history at Columbia University and taught at Spelman College in Georgia where he was active in the Civil Rights movement. In 1963 he moved to Boston University and became a prominent, outspoken critic of the Vietnam War.
Best known for his A People's History of the United States: 1492-Present (1980, revised 1995), a history of America through the perspective of “those outside of the political and economic establishment,” Zinn remained an active advocate for the underclass, a proponent of world peace and an articulate critic of corporate power and greed supported by governmental collusion.
Howard Zinn, A People's History
of the United States: 1492 — Present. New Edition. HarperCollins
Perennial Classics, 2003.
May Day 1971: Daniel Ellsberg on Joining Noam Chomsky, Howard Zinn at Historic Antiwar Direct Action, Democracy Now! 3 May 2021 (video and transcript)
My Lunches With Howard — The Wit And Wisdom Of Howard Zinn by Ed Siegel, The ARTery, 15 March 2021
Trump Calls Howard Zinn’s Work “Propaganda.” Hear the Legendary Historian in His Own Words, Democracy Now! 18 September 2020 (video and transcript)
Remembering My Hero, Howard Zinn by Daniel Ellsberg, Truthdig, 27 January 2020
10 Years After His Passing, Howard Zinn Remains a Threat to the Status Quo by Anthony Arnove, Truthout, 27 January 2020
Ten Years After Howard Zinn's Death — Lessons from the People's Historian by Bill Bigelow, Common Dreams, 26 January 2020
Howard Zinn on How Karl Marx Predicted Our World Today, In These Times, 4 May 2019
Howard Zinn’s Life on the Frontlines An interview with Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor, Jacobin, 19 November 2018
Historian Howard Zinn Warned Us About the Supreme Court by Jacob Sugarman, Truthdig, 8 October 2018
History Distorted: Sam Wineburg’s Critique of Howard Zinn by David J. Detmer, CounterPunch, 26 September 2018
The Battle Over History and Howard Zinn by Kim Scipes, CounterPunch, 22 August 2018
Best of TomDispatch: Graduation Day With Howard Zinn, TomDispatch.com, 21 May 2017
Banning Howard Zinn's Books Is Hardly a Way to "Start a Conversation" by Jas Chana, Truthout, 26 March 2017
Hundreds of Arkansas Teachers Request Howard Zinn's A People's History by Zinn Education Project, Common Dreams, 13 March 2017
Arkansas Republican pushes bill to ban Howard Zinn books from public schools by David Ferguson, Raw Story, 2 March 2017
Howard Zinn and the Joy of a Political Life by Frances Fox Piven, The Nation, 15 December 2014
Matt Damon Amazes Audience with Howard Zinn Speech, ZVideo, 13 February 2014
'Howard Zinn Read-In' Celebrates Power of 'Dangerous' Education by Andrea Germanos, Common Dreams, 5 November 2013
Indiana's Anti-Howard Zinn Witch-hunt by Bill Bigelow, Zinn Education Project, 18 July 2013
"Howard Zinn's Zen Politics" by Jonah Raskin, MR Zine, 16 August 2012
Anthony Arnove and Noam Chomsky honor Howard Zinn, Israeli Occupation Archive, 27 January 2012
Howard Zinn Taught Us That It's OK If We Face Mission Impossible by Bill Moyers, AlterNet, 2 November 2010
Howard Zinn's last testament to the immorality of war by Ben Dandelion, The Guardian/Comment is free, 23 September 2010
Why the Feds Fear Thinkers Like Howard Zinn by Chris Hedges, truthdig, 1 August 2010
FBI Admits Investigating Howard Zinn for Criticizing Bureau by Daniel Tercer, AlterNet, 30 July 2010
Howard Zinn's Final Act of Protest by Micah Uetricht, In These Times, 30 July 2010
Howard Zinn's "The Bomb" by David Swanson, ZNet, 21 July 2010
Losing Our Favorite Teacher by Bill Bigelow, ZNet, 21 April 2010
'One Long Struggle for Justice' An interview with historian Howard Zinn by Bill Bigelow, ZNet, 19 April 2010
Sharing in a common struggle by Anthony Arnove, ZNet, 14 February 2010
Shunning Howard Zinn's History by William Blum, consortiumnews.com, 7 February 2010
Remembering Mahatma Zinn by Harvey Wasserman, CommonDreams.org, 5 February 2010
Howard Zinn: The People's Historian by Amy Goodman, truthdig, 2 February 2010
Anarchism & Marxism, ZNet, 2 February 2010
Saying goodbye to my friend Howard Zinn by Alice Walker, ZNet, 2 February 2010
Letter: Howard Zinn obituary by Paul Buhle, The Guardian, 31 January 2010
Howard Zinn obituary by Godfrey Hodgson, The Guardian, 29 January 2010
A Memory of Howard by Daniel Ellsberg, CommonDreams.org, 28 January 2010
Howard Zinn (1922-2010): A Tribute to the Legendary Historian with Noam Chomsky, Alice Walker, Naomi Klein and Anthony Arnove, Democracy Now! 28 January 2010
Howard Zinn, historian who challenged status quo, dies at 87 by Mark Feeney and Bryan Marquard, The Boston Globe, 27 January 2010
Obama at One: Little Surprising in Absence of Progressive Social Movement, The Nation, 21 January 2010
“Holy Wars”, Democracy Now! 8 January 2010
On Right-Wing Demagogues and Progressive Resistance by Bill Moyers and Howard Zinn, AlterNet, 15 December 2009
Democracy Is Not a Spectator Sport by Howard Zinn, Information Clearing House, 13 December 2009
US Responsible For 9/11, Information Clearing House, 9 December 2009
War and peace prizes, The Guardian/Comment is free, 10 October 2009
Vietnam War Architect Robert McNamara Dies at 93: A Look at His Legacy with Howard Zinn, Marilyn Young & Jonathan Schell, Democracy Now! 7 July 2009
Untold Truths About the American Revolution, The Progressive, 3 July 2009
Howard Zinn: “I Wish Obama Would Listen to MLK”, Democracy Now! 13 May 2009
Changing Obama's Mindset, The Progressive, May 2009
Howard Zinn: Obama "Is Going to Need Demonstrations and Protest and Letters and Petitions" to Do the Right Things by Liliana Segura, AlterNet, 12 March 2009
Obama's Historic Victory, Common Dreams News Center, 8 November 2008
Howard Zinn Defends Studs Terkel from Red-Baiting in the Times, The Progressive, 6 November 2008
Spend the Bailout Money on the Middle Class, The Nation, 8 October 2008
From empire to democracy, The Guardian/Comment is free, 2 October 2008
US 'In Need of Rebellion' Al Jazeera interview, 9 September 2008
Anarchism Interview by Ziga Vodovnik, ZNet, 13 May 2008
Zinn Speaks by Wajahat Ali, CounterPunch, 19/20 April 2008
Empire or Humanity? TomDispatch.com, 2 April 2008
Beyond the New Deal, The Nation, 20 March 2008
CounterPunch, 15/16 December 2007 |
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Responce to Zinn on Samantha Power by Edward Herman |
ZNet, 27 August 2007 |
On Terror: Letter |
New York Times, 19 August 2007 |
The Progressive, 1 July 2007 |
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Zinn calls for activism by Lea Yu |
Yale Daily News, 3 May 2007 |
Patriot's Day: Stop the Violence by Amy Goodman |
truthdig, 17 April 2007 |
Democracy Now! 17 April 2007 |
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In Rare Joint Interview, Noam Chomsky and Howard Zinn on Iraq, Vietnam, Activism and History |
Democracy Now! 16 April 2007 |
ZNet, 14 April 2007 |
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ZNet, 27 March 2007 (This article is a premium sent to Sustainer Donors of Z/ZNet. To learn more, consult ZNet Sustainer Program) |
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The Progressive, 24 March 2004 (May 2007) |
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The Progressive, February 2007 |
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Of the People: A Conversation with Howard Zinn by Gabriel Matthew Schivone |
MR Zine, 17 January 2007 |
Information Clearing House, 30 December 2006 |
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ZNet, 9 December 2006 |
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A Power Governments Cannot Suppress Howard Zinn interviewed |
ZNet, 7 December 2006 |
Information Clearing House, 12 November 2006 |
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The People's Ambassador by Nancy Snow |
Common Dreams News Center, 10 November 2006 |
The Progressive, 23 October 2006 |
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The Progressive, 5 October 2006 |
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The Dennis Prager Show, 30 August 2006 |
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The Boston Globe, 2 September 2006 |
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The Guardian, 3 July 2006 |
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The Progressive, 2 July 2006 |
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An Interview with Howard Zinn by Shelly R. Fredman |
Tikkun, 22 May 2006 |
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The Progressive, 14 March 2006 |
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The Progressive, January 2006 |
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The Progressive, November 2005 |
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Tomdispatch.com, 8 September 2005 |
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The Progressive, September 2005 issue |
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The Guardian, 12 August 2005 |
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Boston Review, Summer 2005 |
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TomDispatch, 24 May 2005 |
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The Progressive, June 2005 issue |
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The Progressive, March 2005 |
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Miami Herald, 22 January 2005 |
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The Progressive, 3 December 2004 (January 2005 issue) |
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The Progressive, November 2004 |
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ZNet, 30 September 2004 (This article is a premium sent to Sustainer Donors of Z/ZNet. To learn more, consult ZNet at http://www.zmag.org) |
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The Progressive, 16 July 2004 |
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The Progressive, 27 April 2004 |
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Newsday, 14 April 2004 |
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CounterPunch, 12/14 March 2004 |
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The Progressive, 20 February 2004 |
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ZNet, 9 February 2004 |
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The Progressive, October 2003 |