Howard Zinn was supposed to have spoken in Olympia, Washington on February 6th. So we chose that day to do a celebration of life memorial for him. About 150 people attended. We showed a video of a talk he was going to give called "The Three Holy Wars" where Howard Zinn examined the U.S. Revolutionary War, Civil War, and World War II. In each of these wars, Howard supported the cause but questioned the wars. Many people also spoke about the inspiration and importance that Howard Zinn was for them including two anti-war Iraq veterans. We decided our best gift to Howard is to carry on Howard’s work.
My comments at our memorial follow!
Mo mhachnamh ar Howard Zinn
by Peter Bohmer, February 6, 2010
Fáilte!! Tháinig Howard Zinn go dtí Olympia i 1993 agus labhair sé le 1500 duine thar thrí lá leis an lucht féachana, idir bheag agus mhór, ag na hEaglaisí Aontaithe, le gníomhaithe ceardchumainn, agus le slua a bhí ag cur thar maoil sa seomra féin. Labhair sé go soiléir faoi na ceachtanna a bhain sé as an staidéar a rinne sé ar an stair. Mar shampla, dúirt sé go mb’fhéidir go gceapfaimis go mb’fhéidir nach raibh i gcogadh na SA in aghaidh Vítneam ach botún nó gur botún a bhí i gcogadh na Murascaille ar an gcéad dul síos mura bhfeicimid patrún leanúnach idirghabhála na SA agus na cogaí iomadúla a bhí ar siúl ag na SA ar fud Mheiriceá agus áiteanna eile ar fud an Aontais. domhanda - agus i leathnú siar ar fud na mór-roinne seo le breis agus 200 bliain anuas, agus na bréaga a úsáidtear chun na cogaí leanúnacha seo atá beartaithe ag ár gceannairí a chosaint ar mhaithe leis na Scothaicme. Tá an oiread sin foghlamtha againn ó Howard Zinn.
My favorite story about his visit here in 1993 was when Howard spoke at Capital H.S. to a group of 100 high school students. After he finished discussing how the U.S. economic system was organized to meet the needs of the wealthy and the corporations and was stacked against workers, blacks, Latinos, Native Americans and immigrants a few students who were immigrants themselves challenged him. They said, Mr. Zinn, aren’t you destroying the American dream? He said in a totally respectful way if I told you the lottery was fixed would I be destroying your dream? Howard then said, we must replace this false American dream of upward mobility thorough hard work with one of a dream for building and working for a humane and equal society based on cooperation and concern for each other.
Chuir Howard Zinn go leor bealaí tábhachtacha le tuiscint a chruthú ar stair na SA a chuir i gcroílár streachailtí daoine faoi chois ar son dínit, agus ar son an cheartais eacnamaíoch agus shóisialta. A clasaiceach, Stair an Phobail sna Stáit Aontaithe, has had a profound effect in this regard. His brilliant first chapter changed millions of people’s understanding of the colonization of what is today, the United States, and the colonialists’ mass murder of indigenous people. Zinn wrote: “To emphasize the heroism of Columbus and his successors as navigators and discoverers, and to deemphasize their genocide, is not a technical necessity but an ideological choice. It serves—unwittingly—to justify what was done. … Even allowing for the imperfection of myths, it is enough to make us question for that time and ours, the excuse of progress in the annihilation of races, and the telling of history from the standpoint of the conquerors and leaders of Western civilization”. It is my favorite book. I have given away 25 copies, usually to people who know from their experience something is terribly wrong with our society and want to learn more.
Howard was a very wise, courageous and humane person who relentlessly criticized our unjust capitalist system while believing in and giving us historical examples of individuals and movements who in ways big and small worked and struggled against all injustice and for an equal and participatory democratic society. For example, he wrote about the courage and significance of the four students from North Carolina A and T University who demanded to be served at a segregated Woolworth counter, 50 years ago this week and how this action inspired so many others to sit-in. What is so valuable in A Stair na ndaoine sna Stáit Aontaithe is that it demonstrates both the systems of oppression that have been a continual part of U.S. history but what is equally important, the continuing resistance by oppressed people to their situation.
In language and analysis that was simple but not simplistic, radical but accessible, Howard Zinn’s anti-racism and anti-imperialism and his strong identification with working people stood out. So did his strong anti-war commitment and perspective. He listened to and respected the non-elites, those usually omitted in the mainstream histories. This was true in his writing, his talks and his personal life.
While motivated in his writings by his values of the dignity of all people and their right to self-determination, and by his belief in the centrality of ending poverty and all forms of oppression such as sexism and racism, and for peace and justice, Howard told the truth and did not exaggerate and omit facts that were uncomfortable to his perspective. He also acted on them by participating in countless demonstrations and other forms of activism from the 1930’s until the present. I first met Howard when he was a major organizer of a sanctuary in 1968 at the Boston University Chapel for a brave GI resister, Ray Kroll, who refused to fight in Vietnam.
Based on Howard’s profound historical understanding of U.S. history and his respect for people and his understanding of the obscene inequality and militarism that marks the United States today, Howard Zinn continued to have hope and believed that we, the people, of the United States, could and would transform this society from capitalism into some form of democratic socialism that lived in harmony with the rest of the world. Our best memorial to Howard is to carry on the struggle for a world without hunger and poverty; where all human beings are valued equally and respected, where there is justice and peace– for us to work in ways small and big for this world. Howard never stopped doing this until he died. Let us continue on this path.
D’ainmnigh Howard Zinn a dhírbheathaisnéis go cuí, “Ní féidir leat a bheith neodrach ar thraein ag gluaiseacht”. Is féidir linn go léir foghlaim ón smaointeoir, ón staraí agus ón duine spreagtha fíor seo. Howard Zinn i láthair!
Is trí fhlaithiúlacht a léitheoirí amháin a mhaoinítear ZNetwork.
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