The last words of Howard Zinn

American historian, activist and professor Howard Zinn passed away today. Americans are mourning a teacher who pushed people to think beyond textbooks and look at history in a more realistic light.

Renowned historian, activist, and professor. Those are just some of the ways to describe Howard Zinn. On the night of January 27, 2010, Zinn passed away in Santa Monica, California after suffering a heart attack.

Zinn left behind a body of work that included more than 20 books: The autobiographical "You Can't Be Neutral on a Moving Train: A Personal History of Our Times" and "A People's History of American Empire" which is, now, virtually a canon in college history courses. Zinn influenced writers such as Alice Walker, author of "The Color Purple" and Marian Wright Edelman of the Children's Defense Fund as a tenured professor at Spellman College. Once he moved onto a teaching post at Boston University, he continued his political activism, encrouaging students to care and often challenging the faculty and administrative status quo. 

Now that Zinn has passed away, Americans and the rest of the world have lost a significant teacher who pushed people to think beyond the textbooks and what's manufactured as realilty.

Video from Howard Zinn's last live is used courtesy of www.bigthink.com