[Howard Zinn raw #70: Jay Craven, Zinn’s former student, is interviewed on the impact that Zinn had on him]

Interview with Jay Craven

0:04Copy video clip URL Camera opens on Jay Craven, a former student of Howard Zinn. Picture is glitchy. Denis Mueller, the interviewer, asks Craven how Zinn brought the outside world into his classroom. Craven describes speakers that Zinn hosted. He then talks about Zinn’s personality and characteristics as a teacher and activist. He says that the class was “more than information,” and that you could not avoid “engagement.”

5:25Copy video clip URL Mueller asks him to talk more specifically about interacting with Zinn and being in school during the Vietnam War. He talks about seeing Zinn lead a teach-in during his first week of school. He says that Zinn was as active on campus as in the classroom. He talks about the risks that Zinn took to support the causes he believed in. He talks about his own participation in anti-war protests. 

16:38Copy video clip URL Mueller asks about how campus administration reacted to Zinn and student activism. He talks about the involvement of a student court in developing regulations for student rights, and the immediate dismissal of these regulations when a new president joined the college. He talks about the power struggle between Zinn and the administration. He mentions how this led to conflict with professors who were actively against the war being able to receive tenure, and that despite Zinn’s tenure and accomplishments, the administration continued to push back against him. He talks about how Zinn helped him as a storyteller and activist. 

29:40Copy video clip URL Audio cuts in and out. Mueller asks him to expand on Zinn’s role as a storyteller. He mentions Zinn’s focus on stories and interest in theater, including the two plays he wrote. He talks about public figures and storytellers that were involved in the anti-war movement. Audio difficult to understand in some moments. He talks about the emotional drama of the movement. He gives Zinn as an example for the amount of change one individual can make. 

41:04Copy video clip URL Tape ends. 

 

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