Second Thoughts on the First Amendment
“Congress shall make no law…abridging freedom of speech.” There it is. Plain and simple. The First Amendment to the Constitution. But since 9/11 that amendment has been under sustained attack. Whistleblowers John Kiriakou, Julian Assange, Chelsea Manning, Edward Snowden, and others are hounded, threatened and imprisoned by the U.S. government. A fascinating and compelling account of past and present efforts to secure and expand political and social rights for workers, women and African-Americans. A classic Zinn from our archives.
Recorded at the University of Colorado.
Speaker
Howard Zinn
HOWARD ZINN CENTENARY 1922-2022
Howard Zinn, professor emeritus at Boston University, was perhaps this country’s premier radical historian. He was born in Brooklyn in 1922. His parents, poor immigrants, were constantly moving to stay, as he once told me, “one step ahead of the landlord.” After high school, he went to work in the Brooklyn Navy Yard. During World War II, he saw combat duty as an Air Force bombardier. After the war, he went to Columbia University on the GI Bill. He taught at Spelman, the all-Black women’s college in Atlanta. He was an active figure in the civil rights movement and served on the board of SNCC, the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee. He was fired by Spelman for his activism. He was among the first to oppose U.S. aggression in Indochina. His book Vietnam: The Logic of Withdrawal was an instant classic. A principled opponent of imperialism and militarism, he was an advocate of non-violent civil disobedience. He spoke and marched against the U.S. wars on Afghanistan and Iraq. His masterpiece, A People’s History of the United States, has sold more than four million copies. Among his many other books are You Can’t Be Neutral on a Moving Train, Failure to Quit: Reflections of an Optimistic Historian, The Future of History and Original Zinn with David Barsamian. Shortly before his death he completed his last great project, the documentary The People Speak. Always ready to lend a hand, he believed in and practiced solidarity. Witty, erudite, generous and loved by many the world over, Howard Zinn, friend and teacher, passed away on January 27, 2010. He would say, Don’t mourn. Get active. The struggle for peace and justice continues.
NJ Listener –
It was a great program.
Linda Averill –
Fascinating and excellent lecture. What I took away was if you get told by a cop to stop leafleting on a public sidewalk, or using a bullhorn to call out injustice — stand your ground, muster public support, and be ready to go to jail for a good cause. Better to have a movement too. Long live free speech! Long live Howard Zinn!
Edward B Hagan –
On a scale of one to ten I say ten. Humor mixed in is essential to me.
Robin Collier –
So relevant in November 2020! This a truly great talk by Howard Zinn.
Elizabeth Whitehouse –
How about second thoughts on the Constitution? Do we really want to be governed by an antiquated set of rules drawn up by a mere handful of slave-owning, rich white men. The Constitution was ratified by a majority of the states at the time. There are now 37 more states. Should they perhaps have some say?