Digital Access: Accessible at HowardZinn.org
The First Amendment and A Free People Radio Show
Howard Zinn interviewed by Bernard Rubin. WBGH Boston Open Vault. 1970s.
Bernard Rubin: What’s your definition of radical?
Howard Zinn: Somebody who wants to do something to make very fundamental changes in the distribution of wealth, in the distribution of political power, and in a kind of culture of violence and oppression in which we exist today. Race, sex, class oppression, something that fundamental. That’s what I mean, I guess.
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Bernard Rubin: What’s your definition of radical?
Howard Zinn: Somebody who wants to do something to make very fundamental changes in the distribution of wealth, in the distribution of political power, and in a kind of culture of violence and oppression in which we exist today. Race, sex, class oppression, something that fundamental. That’s what I mean, I guess.
History Detectives: Howard Zinn on the Lawrence Textile Strike
Howard Zinn interviewed by Elyse Luray. PBS History Detectives. 2006.
Elyse Luray: So why was there this renewed interest in the strike?
Howard Zinn: I think that the movements of the 1960s, of Black people in the South, of women, of people all over the country working against the war in Vietnam, of disabled people, there arose out of those movements, a greater interest in history that had been neglected in the orthodox teachings of the past. I think as part of that new interest in people's history, we began to get more interest in labor history, and therefore in the history of the Lawrence Strike.
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Elyse Luray: So why was there this renewed interest in the strike?
Howard Zinn: I think that the movements of the 1960s, of Black people in the South, of women, of people all over the country working against the war in Vietnam, of disabled people, there arose out of those movements, a greater interest in history that had been neglected in the orthodox teachings of the past. I think as part of that new interest in people's history, we began to get more interest in labor history, and therefore in the history of the Lawrence Strike.
My Grades Will Not Be Instruments of War
Letter by Howard Zinn. Tamiment Library and Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives, New York University.
In an undated letter (probably in 1966), Zinn said that he would not allow the grades he gave to play a role in helping the United States wage immoral wars. He announced that for students with a moral opposition to the war...
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In an undated letter (probably in 1966), Zinn said that he would not allow the grades he gave to play a role in helping the United States wage immoral wars. He announced that for students with a moral opposition to the war...
Howard Zinn: How Racial Prejudice Can Change
Howard Zinn interviewed by Patricia Marx. WNYC Radio. 1960s.
Recorded in the 1960s (estimate 1964-1965 based on transcript), Patricia Marx sits down with historian Howard Zinn to discuss his books, SNCC: The New Abolitionists and The Southern Mystique. Zinn describes his experiences teaching at Spelman College in Atlanta, Georgia, from 1956 to 1963, and his subsequent observations on racial prejudice in the southern United States.
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Recorded in the 1960s (estimate 1964-1965 based on transcript), Patricia Marx sits down with historian Howard Zinn to discuss his books, SNCC: The New Abolitionists and The Southern Mystique. Zinn describes his experiences teaching at Spelman College in Atlanta, Georgia, from 1956 to 1963, and his subsequent observations on racial prejudice in the southern United States.
Zinn Testifies at the Trial of CIA Protesters
Testimony by Howard Zinn. From Trial of CIA Protesters, 1987.
On Nov. 25, 1986, 60 people—including Amy Carter and Abbie Hoffman—were arraigned on charges of disorderly conduct stemming from a sit-in to block CIA campus recruiting at University of Massachusetts-Amherst, an act of protest of the CIA's role in Central America. Howard Zinn testified as an expert on civil disobedience.
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On Nov. 25, 1986, 60 people—including Amy Carter and Abbie Hoffman—were arraigned on charges of disorderly conduct stemming from a sit-in to block CIA campus recruiting at University of Massachusetts-Amherst, an act of protest of the CIA's role in Central America. Howard Zinn testified as an expert on civil disobedience.
First FBI Interview with Howard Zinn | Nov. 25, 1953
Howard Zinn interviewed by FBI. FBI Files: The Vault. Nov. 25, 1953.
In July 2010, the FBI declassified their 243-page file on Howard Zinn, dating back to 1949 (read summaries of files). The first recorded contact with Zinn is this report filed four years later on November 25, 1953.
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In July 2010, the FBI declassified their 243-page file on Howard Zinn, dating back to 1949 (read summaries of files). The first recorded contact with Zinn is this report filed four years later on November 25, 1953.
‘You have to go beyond capitalism’: Dave Zirin Interviews Howard Zinn
Howard Zinn interviewed by Dave Zirin. May 2, 2009.
Discussion ranges from the U.S. elections, the New Deal in the 1930s, the struggle for racial justice, equal marriage, and the need to recreate a socialist alternative.
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Discussion ranges from the U.S. elections, the New Deal in the 1930s, the struggle for racial justice, equal marriage, and the need to recreate a socialist alternative.
A Power Governments Cannot Suppress
Talk by Howard Zinn. BookTV. Jan. 18, 2007.
Howard Zinn discussed his latest collection of essays, A Power Governments Cannot Suppress, that critiques America’s response to 9/11, examines the current state of democracy and government responsibility in America and cites examples of when government has overstepped throughout American history.
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Howard Zinn discussed his latest collection of essays, A Power Governments Cannot Suppress, that critiques America’s response to 9/11, examines the current state of democracy and government responsibility in America and cites examples of when government has overstepped throughout American history.
“Fellow Workers” Liner Notes by Howard Zinn
By Howard Zinn. Liner Notes to "Fellow Workers" album by Ani DiFranco and Utah Phillips. May 1, 1999.
Before I became a college professor I was a shipyard worker. Before I was a writer I was a warehouse worker. But whatever I did, I was always a member of a labor union. I think the only job I had where I couldn’t join a union was when I was a bombardier in the Air Force — and it might have been a good thing if we had one — maybe we would have gotten together and asked the question: Why are we dropping bombs on this peaceful village this morning?
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Before I became a college professor I was a shipyard worker. Before I was a writer I was a warehouse worker. But whatever I did, I was always a member of a labor union. I think the only job I had where I couldn’t join a union was when I was a bombardier in the Air Force — and it might have been a good thing if we had one — maybe we would have gotten together and asked the question: Why are we dropping bombs on this peaceful village this morning?
Read, Learn, & Make History
Check out the Howard Zinn Digital Collection to search Zinn’s bibliography by books, articles, audio, video, and more.