Her Voice, Our Voices

Roslyn Zinn died on May 14th. She was a painter, writer, and social activist. The wife of well-known left-wing historian Howard Zinn--whose People's History of the United States has revolutionized the way we think of American history--she could have easily ended up playing second-fiddle to her well-known historian husband.

That was far from being the case, though. Roslyn, or Roz as she was known, was someone who spent her life on the front-lines just as much as Howard. Neither were just academics or armchair activists. Roz marched with the civil rights and women's movements, was there every step of the way in the movements against the Vietnam war and, health permitting, Iraq.

Her painting, which only became a large part of her existence later in her life, was intimately tied in with her outlook on life and hope for a better world. In the introduction to "A Painting Life," a collection of her works published after being diagnosed with ovarian cancer, she wrote: "After years as a teacher and social worker, I turned seriously to painting, which throughout my life had sparked and enlivened my spirit... What I see in the world, so burdened and troubled, and yet beautiful in nature and in the human form, impels me to seek to create images that give the possibility of hope."

And so it is fitting that a tribute to her life should seek to blend arts and activism in such a profound way. On May 16th, in Portland, Oregon, the scheduled performance of Howard Zinn and Anthony Arnove's "Voices of a People's History of the United States," companion to Zinn's book, was dedicated to Roslyn Zinn.

Throughout the night, artists, actors and activists read selected pieces from "Voices." Michael Ealy from Showtime's "Sleeper Cell" read Malcolm X's "Message to the Grass Roots." NYC-based singer Shontina Vernon sang a "blood-chilling version" of Billie Holiday's "Strange Fruit." And Viggo Mortensen read John Reed's "Whose War?" All the performances were met with often stirring applause.

The final performance of the night seemed to be especially poignant. Eddie Vedder, who had simply sat in the crowd--though had been acknowledged as in attendance that night--sang his own "The Long Road," and dedicated it to Roslyn: "Without you something's missing...Now I wish for you again/And the wind keeps blowin'/And the sky keeps turning gray/And the sun is set..."