Tag Archives: July

Howard Zinn taught at Boston University from 1964 to 1988.  His intellectual legacy has not held up well among serious historians.  Zinn presented American history as a simplistic morality play of evil elites versus virtuous “the people.” Scholars across the political spectrum, including left-leaning historians like Michael Kazin and Sam Wineburg, have criticized it as a “polemic disguised as history” and a Manichean fable rather than rigorous scholarship.

The book is filled with selective quoting, decontextualized facts, major omissions, and heavy reliance on secondary sources that support his Marxist-tinged narrative. Detailed critiques, such as Mary Grabar’s Debunking Howard Zinn, document numerous factual distortions regarding Columbus, the American Revolution, slavery, WWII, and more. 

Zinn openly rejected “disinterested scholarship” in favor of activism, producing advocacy rather than balanced analysis. While influential in activist and popular circles, its methodological flaws and lack of nuance have kept it outside mainstream academic respect. 

Discusses the collapse of Kendi’s Center for Antiracist Research at Boston University, alleging mismanagement of $55 million with minimal research output. Describes Kendi as a “symbol of the BLM era’s destructive passions” and notes his move to Howard University.