In late 2007, former Boston University journalism student William Holtzman watched You Can’t Be Neutral on a Moving Train,
the film about the life of historian, professor, and activist Howard
Zinn. It brought back memories of attending Professor Zinn’s remarkable
lectures at Boston University in the 1970s. He always marveled at how
Zinn’s “people’s history” was so much more alive and accurate than the
traditional history he received in high school.
After a successful career in technology, Holtzman wanted to bring
Zinn’s work to a new generation of students. So he called Howard Zinn.
“I contacted Howard and said I that I wanted to honor him and extend the
reach of his work,” said Holtzman. “Howard didn’t care about the
former, but was very open to the latter.”
Zinn
introduced him to two non-profit organizations, Rethinking Schools and
Teaching for Change. Each group has over 20 years of experience in
providing social justice resources and professional development for
pre-K-through-12 classroom teachers and teacher educators.
With the support of Holtzman and others, Rethinking Schools and
Teaching for Change partnered to launch the Zinn Education Project.
Some 30 years after his exposure to Howard Zinn’s “people’s history,”
the former Boston University student who initiated this project
demonstrates that classroom experience can have a lifelong impact.
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