Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Howard Zinn Digital Collection @zinndigital.bsky.social · Aug 26

“‘There are certain historical moments when learning is more compressed and intense than others,’ wrote Howard Zinn, a month after 9/11. The historian was writing in a moment of tremendous, escalating violence, and he sensed more death & destruction looming.”–James Folta
lithub.com/why-you-shou...

Why you should read Howard Zinn’s Artists in Times of War now.

“There are certain historical moments when learning is more compressed and intense than others,” wrote Howard Zinn, a month after 9/11. The historian was writing in a moment of tremendous, escalati…

lithub.com

4 10

Reposted by Howard Zinn Digital Collection

Zinn Education Project @zinnedproject.bsky.social · Aug 24

In 2020, Brut posted a 3-minute response to Trump's #ConstitutionDay attacks on Howard Zinn -- using remarks by Zinn on the importance of being honest with young people. (Clips are from NCSS 2008 conference keynote by Zinn.) #TeachTruth

Watch ⬇️
www.zinnedproject.org/news/other-h...

"We Should Be Honest with Young People" — Howard Zinn

In this three-minute clip, Zinn counters Trump’s assertion that teaching people’s history tries “to make students ashamed of their own history.” To the contrary. Watch and share.

www.zinnedproject.org

4 15

Reposted by Howard Zinn Digital Collection

Zinn Education Project @zinnedproject.bsky.social · Aug 24

While Zinn’s essays on the Civil Rights Movement & war are well known, his writing about prisons & with prisoners gets less attention, reflecting the invisibility of mass incarceration in this country.

Here are some of Zinn's essays, quotes, letters.
www.zinnedproject.org/news/howard-...

Howard Zinn on Prisons and Prisoners

A sampling of Howard Zinn's essays, quotes, trial testimonies, and correspondence related to prisons and prisoners.

www.zinnedproject.org

1 3 10

Reposted by Howard Zinn Digital Collection

Zinn Education Project @zinnedproject.bsky.social · Aug 24

Born #tdih Howard Zinn (1922-2010) was a historian, professor, playwright, activist.

Author of APHUS, he wrote many books incl. "Vietnam: The Logic of Withdrawal" & "SNCC: The New Abolitionists."

Also trial testimonies on civil disobedience history. 🧵
Read: www.zinnedproject.org/news/tdih/ho...

Blue text on faded blue photo in background:

Civil disobedience, that’s not our problem. Our problem is that people are obedient all over the world in the face of poverty and starvation and stupidity, and war, and cruelty. -- HOWARD ZINN

1 17 35

Reposted by Howard Zinn Digital Collection

Haymarket Books @haymarketbooks.org · Aug 24

“Protest beyond the law is not a departure from democracy; it is absolutely essential to it.”

Howard Zinn was born August 24, 1922 in Brooklyn

A young Howard Zinn stands in front of a bookshelf full of books; a sign behind him says "Strike!"

160 450

Reposted by Howard Zinn Digital Collection

PM Press @pmpress.bsky.social · Aug 24

Happy Birthday to Howard Zinn, historian, activist, and author of A People’s History of the United States. His life’s work gave voice to ordinary people, challenged power, and reminded us that real change comes from collective struggle from below.

4 13

Reposted by Howard Zinn Digital Collection

Jacobin @jacobinmag.bsky.social · Aug 24

Historian and anti-war activist Howard Zinn was born on this day in 1922.

10 48

Reposted by Howard Zinn Digital Collection

Working Class History @workingclasshistory.com · Aug 24

#OtD 24 Aug 1922 radical historian and activist Howard Zinn was born to a Jewish immigrant family in Brooklyn, NYC. Author of A People's History of the United States, Zinn did much to popularise the history of ordinary people and our struggles workingclasshistory.com/podcast/e69-...

1 35 150

Howard Zinn Digital Collection @zinndigital.bsky.social · Aug 23

Kicking off Monday: A new series of @zinnedproject.bsky.social “Teach the Black Freedom Struggle” online classes. Events are free. ASL interpretation provided. Learn more & sign up:
www.zinnedproject.org/news/teach-b...

Join our email list for more news: www.howardzinn.org/contact-sign...

Teach the Black Freedom Struggle Online Classes

Online classes for educators on teaching the Black Freedom Struggle. People's historians interviewed by classroom teachers and teacher educators.

www.zinnedproject.org

41 87

Howard Zinn Digital Collection @zinndigital.bsky.social · Aug 22

Check out the 2025–2026 schedule of Voices of a People’s History performances. More news & events in our newsletter. Subscribe at: www.howardzinn.org/contact-sign...
www.howardzinn.org/voices-perfo...

Voices of a People's History Performances, 2025–2026 - Howard Zinn

Dates for 2025–2026 performances for Voices of a People’s History have been announced with events planned in Edinburgh and New York.

www.howardzinn.org

3

Howard Zinn Digital Collection @zinndigital.bsky.social · Aug 21

"When A People’s History of the U.S. came out, it literally rocked the boat. Instead of starting where most histories of the Americas start—on the deck of Columbus’s ship—Howard Zinn flipped the script, focusing on what the people standing on the shore would have seen"–BklynPLibrary
bit.ly/brp-zinn

The Legacy of Howard Zinn's Radical History - Howard Zinn

On August 4, 2025, the podcast Borrowed and Returned aired an episode called “The Legacy of Howard Zinn’s Radical History.” From the introduction: "When Howard Zinn’s A People’s History of the United ...

www.howardzinn.org

12 23

Howard Zinn Digital Collection @zinndigital.bsky.social · Aug 19

Looking forward to the new Howard Zinn biography from Dave Zirin (@edgeofsports.bsky.social) due next summer! -- Stay up to date about all the Zinn-related news & events by joining the email list (emails sent 2-4x/year): www.howardzinn.org/contact-sign...

1 5

Howard Zinn Digital Collection @zinndigital.bsky.social · Aug 6

Aug 6 & 9 mark the anniversary of the Hiroshima & Nagasaki bombings. In THE BOMB, Howard Zinn offers his reflections & political analysis of these events, & how they transformed him from an order-taking WWII bombardier to an anti-authoritarian, anti-war historian.
www.howardzinn.org/collection/t...

The Bomb by Howard Zinn. B&W image of two young boys and B&W image of a destroyed building on a brown/black background (book cover of The Bomb).

2 5 18

Howard Zinn Digital Collection @zinndigital.bsky.social · Jul 4

"Whenever injustices have been remedied, wars halted, women & Black people & Native American given their due, it has been because 'unimportant' people spoke up, organized, protested, and brought democracy alive"–Howard Zinn
📖 www.howardzinn.org/collection/v...
📺 www.howardzinn.org/collection/t...

People's History collage: The People Speak (film), Voices of a People's History of the United States (book), A People's History of the United States (book)

2 5 15

Howard Zinn Digital Collection @zinndigital.bsky.social · Jul 4

"The Declaration...says that government is not sacred, that it is set up to give people an equal right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness and that if it fails to do this, we have the right to 'alter or abolish it.'"– Howard Zinn, July 4, 1975
www.howardzinn.org/collection/s...

The Spirit of Rebellion - Howard Zinn

By Howard Zinn, from The Zinn Reader Writing a column to appear in the July 4, 1975, issue of the Boston Globe, I wanted to break away from the traditional celebrations of Independence Day, in which t...

www.howardzinn.org

4 10

Reposted by Howard Zinn Digital Collection

Zinn Education Project @zinnedproject.bsky.social · Apr 20

#tdih 1914: National Guard fired on Colorado tent colony of striking miners.

Howard Zinn learned of the Ludlow story from Woody Guthrie ballad, not his history classes, leading Zinn to write and teach people's history. #TeachTruth

Short film and more ⬇️
www.zinnedproject.org/news/tdih/lu...

April 20, 1914: Ludlow Massacre

The National Guard fired on striking miners and their families in Ludlow, Colorado.

www.zinnedproject.org

56 140

Reposted by Howard Zinn Digital Collection

Zinn Education Project @zinnedproject.bsky.social · Apr 5

#tdih 1979, the Boston University faculty union called a strike.

Howard Zinn was one of the strike committee co-chairs.

Read ⬇️ about the strike from Zinn's autobiography, "You Can’t Be Neutral on a Moving Train." 🧵
www.zinnedproject.org/news/tdih/bo...

April 5, 1979: Boston University Strike

Boston University refused to approve negotiated contract, so the faculty union called a strike, with Howard Zinn as co-chair of strike committee. Other staff and librarians also went on strike that sp...

www.zinnedproject.org

1 14 68

Howard Zinn Digital Collection @zinndigital.bsky.social · Feb 26

Vulnerability of the Powerful, cont.
4. Control by a few over many depends on fragmentation of the many
5. In an advanced society, control depends on everyone working
6. Control requires the loyalty of guards and servants
🧵5/5
View FROM THE ARCHIVE ⤵️:
www.howardzinn.org/collection/n...

A Few Cryptic Notes on Power and Powerlessness - Howard Zinn

By Howard Zinn. From the Archives. Circa 1976. From Howard Zinn's folder of "Course Syllabi: 'Introduction to Political Theory,' 1968-1987" in the "Boston University" series housed at New York Univers...

www.howardzinn.org

7

Howard Zinn Digital Collection @zinndigital.bsky.social · Feb 26

Vulnerability of the Powerful by Howard Zinn, 1976
1. The more complicated the mechanism of control the more points of possible breakdown
2. Technology becomes arrogant, overconfident— ultimately it depends on human judgement
3. Control in mass society requires legitimacy, confidence, obedience
🧵4/5

1 1 6

Howard Zinn Digital Collection @zinndigital.bsky.social · Feb 26

Powers of the Powerless by Howard Zinn, cont.
6. The power of morale, based on utopian visions, present comradeship.
7. The maintenance of subterranean communications, information.
🧵3/5
Original document & related 1976 "Introduction to Political Theory" syllabus⤵️:
www.howardzinn.org/collection/n...

A Few Cryptic Notes on Power and Powerlessness - Howard Zinn

By Howard Zinn. From the Archives. Circa 1976. From Howard Zinn's folder of "Course Syllabi: 'Introduction to Political Theory,' 1968-1987" in the "Boston University" series housed at New York Univers...

www.howardzinn.org

1 1 4

Howard Zinn Digital Collection @zinndigital.bsky.social · Feb 26

Powers of the Powerless by Howard Zinn, cont.
3. Mobility works against a powerful, lumbering foe.
4. Timing, surprise.
5. The willingness to use time, that is, protracted, patient struggle, wearing the enemy down through endurance and sacrifice.
🧵2/5

1 1 3

Howard Zinn Digital Collection @zinndigital.bsky.social · Feb 26

FROM THE ARCHIVES
"A Few Cryptic Notes on Power and Powerlessness" by Howard Zinn, 1976
Powers of the Powerless:
(the political counterpart of guerrilla tactics)
1. Sheer numbers can be hard to control, especially with dispersal.
2. Organization of energy can make up for lack of resources.
🧵1/5

A Few Cryptic Notes on Power and Powerlessness by Howard Zinn, circa 1976. HowardZinn.org, From the Archives. Banner text with images of Howard Zinn, archive folders and boxes.

PO 590 Introduction to Political Theory, Spring, 1976 by Howard Zinn ("Our Problem for the Semester") • HowardZinn.org • Published with permission of the Howard Zinn Trust

A Few Cryptic Notes on Power and Powerlessness; Vulnerability of the Powerful (6 point list); Powers of the Powerless (7 point list) by Howard Zinn • HowardZinn.org • Published with permission of the Howard Zinn Trust

1 7 14

Howard Zinn Digital Collection @zinndigital.bsky.social · Jan 27