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The legendary historian, activist, and writer Howard Zinn passed away yesterday at the age of 87. He died of a heart attack while traveling through Southern California. The author of the best-selling A People’s History of the United States, which sold over a million copies, influenced countless numbers of people, including myself. Howard Zinn was a bombardier in World War II, an experience that forever changed his opinion of war. Howard Zinn wrote books, taught at universities, marched and protested in the civil rights movement, the anti-Vietnam war movement, and today’s antiwar movements. He was a mentor, a role-model, and a personal hero to many of us. Reading A People’s History of the United States changed my life. I had no idea, even after having taken history courses in college, that the United States had such a rich history of dissent, of people fighting power, until I read Zinn’s book. When I first moved to Southern California, I went to see Zinn speak at a local college – it was my first time seeing him in person and I didn’t know then that some day I would have the privilege of meeting him one on one, and interviewing him on public radio. Howard was the kind of guy you could just call on the phone and he would answer. Hold on, he’d say, let me just check my schedule. Sure, I can do an interview. Today all of us who were touched by Howard Zinn, grieve his loss.

The last time I had the honor of interviewing Howard was on Uprising, a couple of months before the 2008 Presidential election.