The People Speak
Sunday December 13th:
The documentary that brings to life the work of "people's historian" Howard Zinn, makes its debut on the History Channel (8 p.m. EST, check local listings).
Author and Nation sportswriter reviews the premier screening for Socialist Worker:
'This is more than just must-see-TV. It is nothing less than the life's work of "people's historian" Howard Zinn brought to life by some of the most talented actors, musicians and poets in the country.
Howard Zinn and his partner Anthony Arnove chose the most stirring political passages in Zinn's classic A People's History of the United States, creating a written anthology called Voices of a People's History of the United States. Those "voices" have now been fully resurrected by a collection of performers, ranging from actor Matt Damon to hip hop artist Lupe Fiasco to poet Staceyann Chin.
The lunatic right will howl to the heavens after seeing "liberal Hollywood" perform the words of labor radicals, anti-racists, feminists and socialists. In fact, aided by the craven Matt Drudge, they are already in full froth, campaigning online to get the History Channel to drop The People Speak before its air date. If they weren't so contemptible, their actions would be almost quaint, like a virtual book burning.
THIS IS a country dedicated to historical amnesia. Our radical past holds dangers for both those in power and those threatened by progressive change. We need to rescue the great battles for social justice from becoming either co-opted, or simply erased from the history books.'
