Category: News

“Howard Zinn, Our Favorite Teacher” Series — David Detmer

By David Detmer
"...his extraordinary gift for clear expression, perhaps the biggest factor leading to Zinn’s success as a teacher was his relaxed, friendly, good-humored, unthreatening manner. While he certainly offered a challenge to the beliefs of many of his students, which he accomplished by presenting ideas of deadly seriousness, he also did so with a light hand, and with plenty of wit and humor. He encouraged everyone, not only to participate in class discussions, but also to 'challenge authority' by disagreeing with him."
Read More »
Jesse Williams at BET Awards | HowardZinn.org

Jesse Williams Advocates Learning True History in BET Award Acceptance Speech

Actor and activist Jesse Williams, best known for his role on Grey’s Anatomy, won the BET Humanitarian Award on June 26, 2016. Williams, who read in the 2014 Voices Performance in Los Angeles, and serves on the board of the Advancement Project, is the son of public school teachers and a former U.S. history teacher (in Philadelphia) himself. He acknowledged the role of teachers and students learning history (outside the textbook) in his acceptance speech.
Read More »

Commemorating Emma Goldman: ‘Living My Life’

June 27 marks the birth of Emma Goldman (June 27, 1869–May 14, 1940), an anarchist who was an early advocate of free speech, birth control, women's equality and independence, and unions. After reading Richard Drinnon's biography of Emma Goldman, Rebel in Paradise, Howard Zinn read Goldman's autobiography, Living My Life. As a historian with a PhD, he was astonished he had never learned about Goldman in his studies. "Here was this magnificent woman, this anarchist, this feminist, fierce, life-loving person."
Read More »
A People’s History of the United States: 1492 – Present (35th anniversary edition)

35th Anniversary Edition of A People’s History of the United States

The 35th anniversary edition of A People’s History of the United States is now available featuring a new introduction by Anthony Arnove, Howard Zinn's long-time collaborator. Arnove begins, "Howard Zinn fundamentally changed the way millions of people think about history with A People’s History of the United States. He would be the first to say, however, that he didn’t do so alone. The book grew out of his awareness of the importance of social movements throughout U.S. history, some of which he played an active role in during the 1960s and 1970s and beyond..."
Read More »

“Howard Zinn, Our Favorite Teacher” Series

The "Howard Zinn, Our Favorite Teacher" Series collects stories from former students at Spelman College and Boston University about his role as a teacher. Here is one example, a story by Michael Stavros, Class of 1973. If you are a former student of Zinn, please contribute your story here.
Read More »

2015 Howard Zinn Freedom to Write Award

PEN New England selected Ferguson activists and bloggers Johnetta Elzie and DeRay McKesson to receive the 2015 Howard Zinn Freedom to Write Award. Formerly named the "Thomas Paine Award," the Freedom to Write Award was re-named in honor of Howard Zinn.
Read More »
Voices of a People's History, 10th Anniversary Edition

10th Anniversary Edition of Voices Now Available

The 10th anniversary edition of Voices of a People’s History, a companion to Howard Zinn’s A People’s History of the United States, features new voices including whistleblower Chelsea Manning, Naomi Klein, speaker from the Occupy Wall, Dream Defenders, and Glenn Greenwald.
Read More »
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11
Read, Learn, & Make History
Check out the Howard Zinn Digital Collection to search Zinn’s bibliography by books, articles, audio, video, and more.
Share This Page:
Like on Facebook
FOLLOW ON TWITTER
SIGN UP FOR NEWSLETTER
HowardZinn.org Newsletter Header

Copyright © 2025 · All Rights Reserved · HowardZinn.org

Image: Howard Zinn in his office by Ted Polumbaum/Newseum.