There was a standing-room-only crowd at the new Busboys and Poets in Hyattsville, Md., for the special event on Sept. 21 to celebrate International Peace Day, dedicate the Zinn Room, and raise funds for the Zinn Education Project.
The date ended up being more significant than could have been imagined. An extraordinary group of people spoke, sang, and read to honor the memory of historian and activist Howard Zinn and to support the Zinn Education Project‘s efforts to promote teaching people’s history in middle and high school classrooms.
The 300-plus attendees were inspired by the words of Jeff Zinn, Bernice Johnson Reagon, Cornel West, Dave Zirin, Beverly Daniel Tatum, Marian Wright Edelman, Barbara Ehrenreich, Medea Benjamin, Craig and Cindy Corrie, and more.
Dave Zirin, from Edge of Sports, was the emcee.
The pall of the impending execution of death row inmate Troy Davis hung in the air. Emcee-for-the-evening Dave Zirin, wearing an “I Am Troy Davis” T-shirt, said it most bluntly. While acknowledging how far the struggle for justice has come, he decried “the legal lynching going on in Georgia.” He then led a heartfelt call of “They say death row” and the room resounded with the response of “We say hell no!”
Emma’s Revolution played shortly after that statement, beginning with “Bound for Freedom” which they sang at the memorial when Howard Zinn died in 2010, and which they dedicated on Wednesday night to Troy Davis and his sister Martina Correia.
The evening was hosted by Howard Zinn’s son and theater director Jeff Wolf Zinn and Busboys and Poets owner Andy Shallal. The speakers addressed their memories of Howard Zinn and the importance of teaching people’s history.
Dave Zirin said: “Howard taught us that it was the masses of people who are actually the engine of history, and that’s what the Zinn Education Project is now fighting to preserve for our classrooms. Nowadays the textbooks are being written by corporations, with Texas dominating the market and narrative. It’s as if Rick Perry is your child’s history teacher. Who would you rather have teaching the children of America, Rick Perry or Howard Zinn?” The audience responded, “Howard Zinn.” “This is why,” Dave explained, “we are here tonight to support the Zinn Education Project so teachers have access to resources for ‘teaching outside the textbook.'”
Two students and their teacher speak about “A People’s History” and the Zinn Education Project.
Dr. Bernice Johnson Reagon captivated the audience with her words and songs.
This sentiment was echoed by two high school students, Jonah and Jared, and their teacher Mr. Julian Hipkins III. Jared shared how Zinn sparked his interest in learning history so much that when his Mom sends him to bed, he waits until he hears that she has gone to sleep and then “I turn on my lamp and start reading A People’s History.” Hipkins related how when he first read A People’s History of the United States: “I felt betrayed by our education system. I couldn’t believe that I had never heard of [these stories] before, especially as a man in his mid-20s. From that point forward I decided that I would use this book as the classroom textbook.” He credited the Zinn Education Project for making this possible. “Even though A People’s History can be a bit difficult for some students, the activities on the Zinn Education Project website makes the content accessible regardless of their reading level.”
When 7 p.m. passed and the delay of Troy Davis’ execution was announced, a wave of relief, surprise, and elation filled the room. Bernice Johnson Reagon got everyone singing “This Little Light of Mine,” “Joshua Fit the Battle of Jericho,” and more freedom songs.
Cindy and Craig Corrie spoke of how Zinn wrote to them personally after the killing of their daughter, Rachel Corrie, and the friendship they developed with this man whom they had revered and who so respected their daughter’s activism.
Dr. Cornel West on Zinn as a “public intellectual.” See YouTube clip below.
Beverly Daniel Tatum explained that soon after she became president of Spelman she learned that Howard Zinn had been fired from the college in 1963 because of his activism. “That was a piece of history that needed cleaning up,” she said, “so I invited Howard Zinn to be the 2005 commencement speaker.” Tatum quoted from Zinn’s words of encouragement to the graduates in his speech: “You don’t have to do something heroic, just something, to join with millions of others who will just do something, because all of those somethings, at certain points in history, come together, and make the world better.” She closed by acknowledging two former Spelman students among the evening’s speakers—Marian Wright Edelman and Bernice Johnson Reagon.
Cornel West gave an impassioned talk about Zinn as a public intellectual: “He fundamentally believed that the life of the mind matters, that ideas make a difference, and it’s important that you commit yourself not just to reading, but to thinking critically about what you’re reading.”
The second half of the evening began with a musical performance by Chelsey Green, followed by dramatic readings from Voices of a People’s History. There were many readers and voice combinations of note, including labor activist Bill Fletcher Jr. reading the words of Eugene Debs; Iraq Veterans Against the War member Geoff Millard reading the words of Smedley Butler; IPS New Internationalism Project Director Phyllis Bennis reading an anti-war statement by Helen Keller; Mary Beth Tinker reading from her own free speech case in front of the Supreme Court when she was 13 years old; SNCC veteran Judy Richardson reading the words of James Forman about Freedom Schools; Cindy Corrie reading a letter from her daughter Rachel Corrie; and J. Winter Nightwolf, host of the weekly WPFW show “The American Indian’s Truths – Nightwolf – the Most Dangerous Show on Radio,” reading the words of Leonard Peltier.
Bill Fletcher, Jr. reads Eugene Debs.
There are many more photos (on Flickr and on Facebook), film clips, and quotes from the presentations online.
The ticket sales and raffles generated almost $8,000 to continue the work of the Zinn Education Project. This amount will be matched by an anonymous donor.
In addition to everyone who purchased tickets, there are many people and organizations to thank for making the evening such a success, including:
- Busboys and Poets staff for organizing and hosting the event.
- WPFW 89.3 Pacifica for promoting and broadcasting the event.
- Voices of a People’s History for permission and guidance for the People Speak Live! reading.
- Jack Gordon and Rick Reinhard for professional photography.
- Joe’s Movement Emporium for ushers.
- Americans Who Tell the Truth and Robert Shetterly for banner-sized painting of Howard Zinn.
- The organizations for their contribution to the gift bags and raffle, including: Beacon Press, City Lights, Dr. Bronner’s Magic Soap, The Feminist Press, Haymarket Books, Just Seeds Artists’ Cooperative, The New Press, PM Press, The Progressive Magazine, and Seven Stories Press. Full list and contributions.
- The host committee (not all present) included the presenters and Myla Kabat-Zinn, Alice Walker, Barbara Lee, Bill Moyers, Stephen M. Kohn, Clarence Lusane, Brenda Coughlin, Anthony Arnove, Knox Tull, Makani Themba-Nixon, Don Murray, Heather C. McGhee, and more.
- Jonathan B. Tucker for the slide presentations and table volunteers Jhonna Turner, Katy Swalwell, Yasmine Taylor-Hart, and Jozi Zwerdling.
- Those people who literally went the extra mile to participate, including Cornel West who drove in just for the event and drove four hours back the same evening; Craig and Cindy Corrie (Rachel Corrie Foundation) from the West Coast; Dennis Mueller (co-producer of You Can’t Be Neutral on a Moving Train) from Vermont; Judy Richardson (Eyes on the Prize co-producer and co-editor of Hands on the Freedom Plow) from Cambridge; Beverly Daniel Tatum (Spelman College) from Atlanta; and Bill Bigelow (Rethinking Schools editor and co-director of the Zinn Education Project) from Portland.
- All the speakers and performers: Bernice Johnson Reagon, Cornel West, Dave Zirin, Beverly Daniel Tatum, Laura Flanders, Marian Wright Edelman, Medea Benjamin, Regie Cabico, Judy Richardson, Craig and Cindy Corrie, Bill Fletcher, Jr., Mary Beth Tinker, Phyllis Bennis, Barbara Ehrenreich, David Swanson, Kevin Zeese, J. Winter Nightwolf, Andy Shallal, Geoff Millard, Gloria Minott, William Holtzman, Lauren Cooper, Julian Hipkins III, Jared, Jonah, Kymone Freeman, and more.
This description of the event was adapted with permission from an article by Emma’s Revolution.
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