Howard Zinn Quotes about Justice

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The cry of the poor is is not always just, but if you don't listen to it, you will never know what justice is.

The cry of the poor is is not always just, but if you don't listen to it, you will never know what justice is.

Howard Zinn

Justice, Cry, Poor

You can't be neutral on a moving train.

Howard Zinn

Moving, History, Justice

Howard Zinn (1999). “Marx in Soho: A Play on History”, p.57, South End Press

Whenever I become discouraged (which is on alternate Tuesdays, between three and four) I lift my spirits by remembering: The artists are on our side! I mean those poets and painters, singers and musicians, novelists and playwrights who speak to the world in a way that is impervious to assault because they wage the battle for justice in a sphere which is unreachable by the dullness of ordinary political discourse.

Howard Zinn

Mean, Artist, Justice

Howard Zinn (2012). “The Historic Unfulfilled Promise”, p.65, City Lights Publishers

Very important thing to keep in mind, that when justice comes and when injustices are remedied, they’re not remedied by the initiative of the national government or the politicians. They only respond to the power of social movements.

Howard Zinn

Government, Justice, Mind

Howard Zinn (2012). “Howard Zinn Speaks: Collected Speeches, 1963-2009”, p.293, Haymarket Books

I will try not to overlook the cruelties that victims inflict on one another as they are jammed together in the boxcars of the system. I don’t want to romanticize them. But I do remember (in rough paraphrase) a statement I once read: “The cry of the poor is not always just, but if you don’t listen to it, you will never know what justice is.

Howard Zinn

Justice, Trying, Together

Howard Zinn (2014). “A People's History of the United States”, p.12, Pan Macmillan

But by this time I was acutely conscious of the gap between law and justice. I knew that the letter of the law was not as important as who held the power in any real-life situation.

Howard Zinn

Real, Law, Justice

Howard Zinn (2010). “You Can't Be Neutral on a Moving Train: A Personal History of Our Times”, p.43, Beacon Press

I have come to believe that our lives can be turned in a different direction, our minds adopt a different way of thinking, by some significant, though small event. That belief can be frightening, or exhilarating, depending on whether you just contemplate it or do something with it.

Howard Zinn

Believe, Thinking, Justice

Howard Zinn (2010). “You Can't Be Neutral on a Moving Train: A Personal History of Our Times”, p.173, Beacon Press

The stories coming out of Iraq everyday - the violence, the chaos, the deaths of Americans, the deaths of Iraqis... Of course the deaths of Iraqis are not played up as much. But when they count the corpses they see women and children. We are constantly killing the people who are suspected of something. Now, in the United States or under any decent system of justice, you don't kill people on suspicion. That's what you do when you bomb a house because there are suspected leaders there. But we've been doing that again and again and the result has been a toll of thousands of civilians.

Howard Zinn

Children, People, Justice

Source: www.guernicamag.com

I always emphasize the historic role of people of color in organizing and protesting to achieve justice.

Howard Zinn

Color, People, Justice

Source: facpub.stjohns.edu

The historian's distortion is more than technical, it is ideological; it is released into a world of contending interest, where any chosen emphasis supports some kind of interest, whether economic or political or racial, or national or sexual.

Howard Zinn

Justice, Political, Support

Howard Zinn (2015). “A People's History of the United States: 1492-Present”, p.8, Routledge