The Zinn magic. Photo: Beena Sarwar
“To be hopeful in bad times is not just foolishly romantic. It is based on the fact that human history is a history not only of a cruelty but also of compassion, sacrifice, courage, kindness”
– Howard Zinn
Howard Zinn’s death on Jan 27 came as a shock to his friends and admirers around the world. The iconic historian, activist, and academic (Professor Emeritus, Boston University) was 87, frail, but in reasonable health. He had a heart attack while swimming, an activity he loved. As Arundhati Roy put it when she called his old friend David Barsamian of Alternative Radio: “Howard lived a glorious life and accomplished so much and to die swimming — what a way to go”.
Howard Zinn, Cambridge, Oct 2006 (photo: BJ Bullert)
David writes that Howard had rented a place with a swimming pool near the ocean for three weeks and “was thrilled to be escaping the dreaded Boston winter.”
A fluent Urdu/Hindi speaker, David sent this note to friends: “A light has gone out. There are new lights to be lit,” adding the following verse from Iqbal’s poetry:
Sitaron se aage jahan aur bhi hain
abhi ishq ke imtehan aur bhi
(Beyond these stars there are other galaxies
The real test of love is yet to come)
Filed under: Progressive politics | Tagged: alternative radio, Arundhati Roy, B.J. Bullert, David Barsamian, eqbal ahmad, Howard Zinn, Isa Daudpota, jack trumpbour, mahir ali, Margaret Cerullo, noam chomsky, people's history, stuart schaar | 6 Comments »
Journeys to democracy 
