By Howard Zinn
This essay, written for Z Magazine in 1990, and reprinted in my book Failure to Quit, was inspired (if you are willing to call this an inspired piece) by my students of the Eighties. I was teaching a spring and fall lecture course with four hundred students in each course (and yet with lots of discussion). I looked hard, listened closely, but did not find the apathy, the conservatism, the disregard for the plight of others, that everybody (right and left) was reporting about "the me generation."
We revisit Howard Zinn's essay, "If History Is to Be Creative," a reflection on the role and responsibility of the engaged historian, and is an inspiration for us all to continue the fight for justice. Zinn writes, "If history is to be creative, to anticipate a possible future without denying the past, it should, I believe, emphasize new possibilities by disclosing those hidden episodes of the past when, even if in brief flashes, people showed their ability to resist, to join together, and occasionally to win. I am supposing, or perhaps only hoping, that our future may be found in the past's fugitive moments of compassion rather than in its solid centuries of warfare."
By Howard Zinn • ZCommunications • February 1, 2010
In this world of war and injustice, how does a person manage to stay socially engaged, committed to the struggle, and remain healthy without burning out or becoming resigned or cynical?
I am totally confident not that the world will get better, but that we should not give up the game before all the cards have been played. The metaphor is deliberate; life is a gamble. Not to play is to foreclose any chance of winning. To play, to act, is to create at least a possibility of changing the world.
Interview by Bill Bigelow • Author on Air • January 19, 2010
In early January of 2010, the Zinn Education Project joined with HarperCollins, publisher of Howard Zinn’s classic A People’s History of the United States, to sponsor an “Ask Howard” online radio interview, and invited teachers from around the country to participate. Sixty teachers and students submitted written questions to Professor Zinn. The Jan. 19 interview was conducted by Rethinking Schools Curriculum Editor Bill Bigelow. Below is the full audio recording, followed by excerpts from that interview, edited for length and clarity.
Category: Articles & Interviews, Audio & Video, Audio and Video with Howard Zinn, Audio With Howard Zinn, Interviews With Howard Zinn Tags: Activist, American Empire, Civil Rights Movement, Class, Education, Possibility, Zinn Education Project
Interviewed by Wajajat Ali • Counterpunch • April 19, 2008
Zinn reflects on his historic and memorable time at Spelman College in the ‘60s, his thoughts on the Democratic Party, his philosophy of dissent as democracy, and his hope for America’s future.
Interviewed by Shelly R. Fredman • ZCommunications • May 22, 2006
"For those who find a special inspiration in Judaism or Christianity or Buddhism or whatever, fine. If that inspiration leads them to work for justice, that is what matters."
In 1963, Howard Zinn was fired from Spelman College, where he was chair of the History Department, because of his support for students’ civil rights activism. In 2005, he was invited back by President Beverly Daniel Tatum to give the commencement address.…
By Howard Zinn • The Progressive • March 2, 2005
As I write this, the day after the inauguration, the banner headline in The New York Times reads: "BUSH, AT 2ND INAUGURAL, SAYS SPREAD OF LIBERTY IS THE 'CALLING OF OUR TIME.' "
Two days earlier, on an inside page of the Times, was a photo of a little girl, crouching, covered with blood, weeping. The caption read: "An Iraqi girl screamed yesterday after her parents were killed when American soldiers fired on their car when it failed to stop, despite warning shots, in Tal Afar, Iraq. The military is investigating the incident."
By Howard Zinn •
ZCommunications • September 30, 2004; The Nation • September 20, 2004
In this awful world where the efforts of caring people often pale in comparison to what is done by those who have power, how do I manage to stay involved and seemingly happy?
I am totally confident not that the world will get better, but that we should not give up the game before all the cards have been played.
The metaphor is deliberate; life is a gamble. Not to play is to foreclose any chance of winning. To play, to act, is to create at least a possibility of changing the world.
Interviewed by Lawrence R. Velvel • Books of Our Time • November 11, 2003
This discussion ranges from Mr. Zinn's optimism for the future and what true Patriotism is, to what Americans don't want to hear.
Possibility
Failure to Quit
Posted: September 13, 2016 by Howard Zinn Website
This essay, written for Z Magazine in 1990, and reprinted in my book Failure to Quit, was inspired (if you are willing to call this an inspired piece) by my students of the Eighties. I was teaching a spring and fall lecture course with four hundred students in each course (and yet with lots of discussion). I looked hard, listened closely, but did not find the apathy, the conservatism, the disregard for the plight of others, that everybody (right and left) was reporting about "the me generation."
Category: Excerpts, News Tags: Civil Disobedience, Possibility, Student Activism
If History Is to Be Creative
Posted: August 11, 2016 by Howard Zinn Website
Category: Articles & Interviews, Articles by Howard Zinn, Excerpts, News Tags: Possibility, The Progressive
A Marvelous Victory
Posted: February 1, 2010 by Howard Zinn Website
Category: Articles & Interviews, Articles by Howard Zinn Tags: Essays and Speeches, Optimism, Possibility, ZCommunications
‘One Long Struggle for Justice’
Posted: January 19, 2010 by Howard Zinn Website
In early January of 2010, the Zinn Education Project joined with HarperCollins, publisher of Howard Zinn’s classic A People’s History of the United States, to sponsor an “Ask Howard” online radio interview, and invited teachers from around the country to participate. Sixty teachers and students submitted written questions to Professor Zinn. The Jan. 19 interview was conducted by Rethinking Schools Curriculum Editor Bill Bigelow. Below is the full audio recording, followed by excerpts from that interview, edited for length and clarity.
Category: Articles & Interviews, Audio & Video, Audio and Video with Howard Zinn, Audio With Howard Zinn, Interviews With Howard Zinn Tags: Activist, American Empire, Civil Rights Movement, Class, Education, Possibility, Zinn Education Project
Zinn Speaks: An Interview on the State of the Empire
Posted: April 19, 2008 by Howard Zinn Website
Zinn reflects on his historic and memorable time at Spelman College in the ‘60s, his thoughts on the Democratic Party, his philosophy of dissent as democracy, and his hope for America’s future.
Category: Articles & Interviews, Interviews With Howard Zinn Tags: Civil Rights Movement, Democracy, In the South, Politics, Possibility
An Interview with Howard Zinn
Posted: May 22, 2006 by Howard Zinn Website
"For those who find a special inspiration in Judaism or Christianity or Buddhism or whatever, fine. If that inspiration leads them to work for justice, that is what matters."
Category: Articles & Interviews, Interviews With Howard Zinn Tags: Politics, Possibility, War, ZCommunications
Against Discouragement
Posted: May 15, 2005 by Howard Zinn Website
Category: Articles & Interviews, Articles about Howard Zinn Tags: Activism, Civil Rights Movement, Democracy, Essays and Speeches, In the South, Nationalism, Optimism, Possibility, Spelman College
Changing Minds, One at a Time
Posted: March 2, 2005 by Howard Zinn Website
As I write this, the day after the inauguration, the banner headline in The New York Times reads: "BUSH, AT 2ND INAUGURAL, SAYS SPREAD OF LIBERTY IS THE 'CALLING OF OUR TIME.' " Two days earlier, on an inside page of the Times, was a photo of a little girl, crouching, covered with blood, weeping. The caption read: "An Iraqi girl screamed yesterday after her parents were killed when American soldiers fired on their car when it failed to stop, despite warning shots, in Tal Afar, Iraq. The military is investigating the incident."
Category: Articles & Interviews, Articles by Howard Zinn Tags: Elections, Essays and Speeches, Possibility, The Progressive
The Optimism of Uncertainty
Posted: September 30, 2004 by Howard Zinn Website
In this awful world where the efforts of caring people often pale in comparison to what is done by those who have power, how do I manage to stay involved and seemingly happy? I am totally confident not that the world will get better, but that we should not give up the game before all the cards have been played. The metaphor is deliberate; life is a gamble. Not to play is to foreclose any chance of winning. To play, to act, is to create at least a possibility of changing the world.
Category: Articles & Interviews, Articles by Howard Zinn Tags: American Empire, Essays and Speeches, Optimism, Possibility, The Nation, ZCommunications
Howard Zinn – You Can’t Be Neutral on a Moving Train
Posted: November 11, 2003 by Howard Zinn Website
This discussion ranges from Mr. Zinn's optimism for the future and what true Patriotism is, to what Americans don't want to hear.
Category: Articles & Interviews, Audio & Video, Audio and Video with Howard Zinn, Interviews With Howard Zinn, Video With Howard Zinn Tags: Activism, Civil Disobedience, Civil Rights Movement, In the South, Politics, Possibility