HOWARD ZINN Howard Zinn, one of the country’s most celebrated historians, died of a heart attack January 27, 2010, in Santa Monica, California. He was 87 years old. His classic work, A People’s History of the United States, changed the way we look at history in America. First published a quarter of a century ago, the book has sold over a million copies and continues to sell more copies each successive year. Over the years, Howard Zinn has been a frequent guest on Democracy Now! A collection of his appearances is listed below. - July 22, 2013: Censoring Howard Zinn: Former Indiana Gov. Tried to Remove "A People’s History" from State Schools - August 24, 2012: "Be Honest About the History of Our Country": Remembering the People’s Historian Howard Zinn at 90 - February 03, 2010: "Howard Zinn: The People’s Historian." By Amy Goodman - January 28, 2010: Howard Zinn (1922-2010): A Tribute to the Legendary Historian with Noam Chomsky, Alice Walker, Naomi Klein and Anthony Arnove - January 08, 2010: HOWARD ZINN: "Holy Wars" - October 16, 2009: 150 Years Ago Today: Abolitionist John Brown Raided Arsenal at Harpers Ferry in Attempt to Start Slave Insurrection in South - July 7, 2009: Vietnam War Architect Robert McNamara Dies at 93: A Look at His Legacy with Howard Zinn, Marilyn Young & Jonathan Schell - May 13, 2009: Howard Zinn: "I Wish Obama Would Listen to MLK" - January 2, 2009: Howard Zinn on "War and Social Justice" - July 4, 2008: July 4th Special: Readings From Howard Zinn’s “Voices of a People’s History of the United States” - November 9, 2007: Howard Zinn’s "Rebel Voices" Opens in New York - May 28, 2007: Readings From Howard Zinn’s "Voices of a People’s History of the United States" - April 17, 2007: Howard Zinn Urges U.S. Soldiers to Heed Thoreau’s Advice and "Resist Authority" - April 16, 2007: In Rare Joint Interview, Noam Chomsky and Howard Zinn on Iraq, Vietnam, Activism and History - December 18, 2006: Howard Zinn on The Uses of History and the War on Terrorism - November 24, 2006: Howard Zinn on The Uses of History and the War on Terrorism - February 20, 2006: Readings From Howard Zinn’s "Voices of a People’s History of the United States" - December 26, 2005: Readings From Howard Zinn’s "Voices of a People’s History of the United States" - July 4, 2005: A People’s History of the United States: Dramatic Reading of Howard Zinn’s Classic Work - April 27, 2005: Howard Zinn: "To Be Neutral, To Be Passive In A Situation Is To Collaborate With Whatever Is Going On" - January 20, 2005: Historian Howard Zinn: "Bush Represents Everything That Martin Luther King Opposed" - October 14, 2004: Howard Zinn on the Election: Candidates Not Addressing "Fundamental Issues of American Policy in the World" - September 6, 2004: Labor Day Special: A Dramatic Reading of Howard Zinn’s ’People’s History of the United States’ - July 5, 2004: A People’s History of the United States: Dramatic Reading of Howard Zinn’s Classic Work - May 27, 2004: Revolutionary Non-Violence: Remembering Dave Dellinger, 1915-2004 - October 13, 2003: People’s Historian Howard Zinn on Occupied Iraq, the Role of Resistance Movements, Government Lies and the Media - September 1, 2003: Labor Day Special Pt. 1: People’s Historian Howard Zinn on Occupied Iraq, the Role of Resistance Movements, Government Lies and the Media. - July 4, 2003: Independence Day Special: A Dramatic Reading of Howard Zinn’s A People’s History of the United States with James Earl Jones, Alfre Woodard, Kurt Vonnegut, Danny Glover, Harris Yulin and others - May 28, 2003: Howard Zinn and Arundhati Roy: A Conversation Between Two Leading Social Critics - April 30, 2003: Alice Walker, Kurt Vonnegut, Danny Glover, James Earl Jones and Others Read From Howard Zinn’s "A People’s History of the United States": Hour One of Two-Hour Special Commemorating the Millionth Copy - April 30, 2003: A People’s History of the United States Pt. III - February 25, 2003: A People’s History of the United States, 1,000,000 Copies and Counting: Alice Walker, Danny Glover, Kurt Vonnegut, Marisa Tomei and Others Celebrate Howard Zinn’s Classic - February 25, 2003: "The Most Important Message I Want to Convey Is That You Don’t Depend On the Authorities, the People in Power to Solve Problems:" Howard Zinn Talks About Bombs, Terrorism, the Anti-War Movement and th - February 13, 2003: Renowned Historian Howard Zinn On the History of Government and Media Lies in Time of War - December 10, 2002: Over 600 Gather for the Funeral of Legendary Anti-War Activist Philip Berrigan in Baltimore: We Hear From Historian Howard Zinn and Brendan Walsh, Who Co-Founded Viva House, a Catholic Worker House in - November 28, 2002: Howard Zinn On the History of the US Government and CIA 'Changing Regimes' Around the World - October 29, 2002: Saying "No" to War: From Boston to Washington, D.C. to Madison, Wisconsin, We Hear From Howard Zinn, Medea Benjamin and Others - June 21, 2002: The People’s Historian: Howard Zinn - Friday, February 22, 2002: "Where Are We Heading: Terrorism, Global Security, and the Peace Movement": During a Time Ofseemingly Endless War, We’ll Hear From Radical Historian Howard Zinn - October 22, 2001: Historian and Activist Howard Zinn Speaks On the US War Against Afghanistan, US Wars Gone By, and the Prospects for a Humane US Foreign Policy - October 22, 2001: Howard Zinn, Continued - September 13, 2001: Manning Marable, Howard Zinn and Grace Paley Speak Out Against the Bush Administration’s March to War - December 8, 2000: The Electoral College and Election 2000: A Historical Perspective from Howard Zinn - December 27, 1999: American History Review of the 20th Century: Manning Marable and Howard Zinn - May 18, 1999: A People’s History of the United States - December 7, 1998: Historian Howard Zinn Discusses Mergers, Lying Presidents, Activism and Noam Chomsky - May 13, 1998: Historian Zinn Addresses Nation’s Censored Reports - October 13, 1997: A Journey Through American History with Howard Zinn - June 10, 1997: Historian Howard Zinn on History and Politics - October 14, 1996: Howard Zinn on Indigenous People’s Day Monday, July 22, 2013 Censoring Howard Zinn: Former Indiana Gov. Tried to Remove "A People’s History" from State Schools • DOWNLOAD: Video Audio Get CD/DVD More Formats Newly disclosed emails obtained by the Associated Press show former Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels sought to remove Howard Zinn’s work from state classrooms just weeks after the historian’s death in 2010. Zinn’s many books include the classic, "A People’s History of the United States," which sold more than a million copies and is still used in high schools and colleges across the country. In an email exchange with top Indiana education officials, Daniels wrote, "This terrible anti-American academic has finally passed away." After he described "A People’s History" as a "truly execrable, anti- factual piece of disinformation that misstates American history on every page," Daniels asked: "Can someone assure me that it is not in use anywhere in Indiana? If it is, how do we get rid of it before more young people are force-fed a totally false version of our history?" Daniels’ comments have sparked outrage within the academic world in part because he recently became the president of Purdue University in Indiana. We’re joined by two guests: Anthony Arnove, the co-editor with Zinn of "Voices of a People’s History of the United States," a critically acclaimed primary-source companion to Zinn’s best-seller; and Dr. Cornel West, professor at Union Theological Seminary. TRANSCRIPT This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form. AMY GOODMAN: We turn now to a battle over the work of the late historian Howard Zinn, author of many books, including his classic, A People’s History of the United States. The book sold over a million copies, is still used in high schools and colleges across the country. Howard Zinn died at the age of 87 on January 27, 2010. Less than two weeks after Zinn’s death, then-Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels sought the removal of Zinn’s work from the schools of Indiana. The revelation was made last week by the Associated Press after it obtained Daniels’ emails through a public records request. In an email exchange with top Indiana education officials, Daniels wrote, quote, "This terrible anti-American academic has finally passed away." After he described A People’s History of the United States as a, quote, "truly execrable, anti-factual piece of disinformation that misstates American history on every page," Governor Daniels asked, quote, "Can someone assure me that it is not in use anywhere in Indiana? If it is, how do we get rid of it before more young people are force-fed a totally false version of our history?’’ Daniels asked. Governor Daniels’ comments have sparked outrage within the academic world, in part because he recently became the president of Purdue University, the second largest school in Indiana. On Friday, the American Historical Association issued a statement saying it, quote, "deplores the spirit and intent" of Daniels’ emails. The association wrote, quote, "Attempts to single out particular texts for suppression from a school or university curriculum have no place in a democratic society." Former Governor Mitch Daniels, now head of Purdue, has defended his actions. In an email to the Associated Press, he wrote, quote, "We must not falsely teach American history in our schools. We have a law requiring state textbook oversight to guard against frauds like Zinn, and it was encouraging to find that no Hoosier school district had inflicted his book on its students," he wrote.