Howard Zinn is a great American
historian. Some people may not agree with that statement though because of the
way he portrays history from the eyes of lower class people as opposed to
always being portrayed from the view of the elite. Whenever he wrote his book
“A People’s History of the United State” it was not even reviewed by official
historical groups. It is a shame that some people would not take his book
seriously because it is always good to look at things from more than one perspective
and almost all historical books tell the same story from the same point of
view.
Howard wasn’t only a historian
though; he was also an activist, teacher, and military man. He led many people
at Spelman College in Atlanta to protest against the segregation of whites and
blacks. He was an advisor to the SNCC (student nonviolent coordinating
committee). He was fired from Spelman College as a result of his part in the
civil rights movement and how he was affecting the students. This did not halt his battle for civil
rights.
Civil rights were not the only
thing he was ever active against. He was strongly against the war in Vietnam,
as an airman during World War 2 he had flown many bombing mission, sometimes
against targets that he viewed as very unnecessary to kill. This changed his
view on war and made him fight that much harder against the Vietnam War. As a
result of his actions 3 air force prisoners of war were released by the North
Vietnamese, these were the first American prisoners released in the war.
During Howard’s life he influenced
many people to stand up for what they believed in. travelling the country and
the world he spread his message to thousands of people. He was an inspiration
to many of his students and led them to live life in the way he did working to
change the world for the better.
