I was first introduced to Professor Howard Zinn in college through Professor James Taylor's "Race & Ethnic Politics" class. With the many students who had taken Professor Taylor's class, the movement to bring Professor Zinn to campus grew, at least from what I recall. Seeing him speak was one of the few times in my life that I actually felt "starstruck." To see and hear a man who had fought his entire life for labor equality, civil liberties and, of course, social justice, was quite remarkable. It drove my quest to gain more information on how "the system," whether it be capitalism, the great US democratic system, or globalism, can be learned from and changed from within. Being introduced to Professor Zinn and to the concept that justice, in essence, is not always fair, solidifed my own fight for equality.
These types of people are my heros, those who tell the truth about life, about people's experiences, particularly those who have been shun from the dominant society for way too long.
My father was the first. Throughout my lifetime, he has always reminded me of the significance of those who are not always at the top of the economic ladder. Those who toil to bring food from the ground to our tables. Those who perform the most repetitive of jobs simply to ensure that their families and themselves will live as equally as those who have postions that require a bit more grey matter exercise.
To those who continue to speak the truth and fight for it, thank you for your honesty, thank you for your bravery and thank you for your verocity. I pray that you will never lose yourself in the movement or "the system."
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