Howard Zinn
Born: 08-23-1922
Howard Zinn was an influential American historian, playwright, and social activist, best known for his book "A People's History of the United States." Born in 1922, Zinn served as a bombardier in World War II before earning a Ph.D. from Columbia University. He taught at Spelman College and Boston University, advocating for civil rights and anti-war movements. Zinn's work reshaped historical narratives by highlighting the struggles of ordinary people.
Book summaries for books written by Howard Zinn
Quotes
History is important. If you don't know history, it is as if you were born yesterday.
In the long run, the oppressor is also a victim.
The memory of oppressed people is one thing that cannot be taken away, and for such people, with memory, hope is the fuel of survival.
The cry of the poor is not always just, but if you don't listen to it, you will never know what justice is.
To be hopeful in bad times is not just foolishly romantic. It is based on the fact that human history is a history not only of cruelty, but also of compassion, sacrifice, courage, kindness.
If you don't know where you are, then you don't know who you are.
Social movements may have many 'defeats'—failing to achieve objectives in the short term—but they can have positive, unanticipated consequences.
Protest beyond the law is not a departure from democracy; it is absolutely essential to it.
We must not accept the memory of states as our own.
Civil disobedience, violent or non-violent, has been a way of life in the United States.
We need to assert our allegiance to the human race, and not to any one nation.
It is not that the voice of the people is always right, but when the people are silenced, democracy is dead.