TPM looks at Howard Zinn’s long FBI file. It notes that “[T]he anti-war activities of [left historian] Professor Zinn provoked a reaction in some members of the leadership of [Boston University]. What is perhaps more surprising is that at least some member of the university leadership was an informant to the FBI.”
TPM quotes from the file:
On 4/17/70, [Redacted] (former SA), [redacted] advised on instant date, that [Redacted for more than 2 lines] (an excellent source of the Boston Office) is highly disturbed with HOWARD ZINN, Assistant Professor, Department of Government, BU, Boston, (Bufile 100-360217, BSfile 100-35505, SI subject) because of ZINN’s persistent involvement in anti-war activities. [Redacted] was particularly incensed when ZINN, as featured speaker, spoke in front of Boston Police Headquarters on 4/14/70 in connection with a rally held for the release of BOBBY SEALE, BPP National Chairman. ZINN stated “it’s about time we had a demonstration at the Police Station. Police in every nation are a blight and the United States is no exception.”
ZINN further sated [sic] “America has been a police state for a long time. I believe that policemen should not have guns. I believe they should be disarmed. Policemen with guns are a danger to the community and themselves.”
[Redacted] indicated [Redacted] intends to call a meeting of the BU Board of Directors in an effort to have ZINN removed from BU.
Boston proposes under captioned program with Bureau permission to furnish [Redacted] with public source data regarding ZINN’s numerous anti-war activities, including his trip to Hanoi, 1/31/68, in an effort to back [Redacted’s] efforts for his removal.
TPM comments:
The Boston Office’s efforts to assist in the unnamed official’s supposed campaign against Zinn was denied — but only because the request was mislabeled as asking for help with Communist sympathizers, rather than anti-war sympathizers.
The Charter and Bylaws of Boston University indicate that there are only 2 people who could, alone, call a meeting of the Board of Trustees: the Chairman or the President. Otherwise, more than one-third of the members have to agree to such a meeting; there are currently 38 members of the Board of Trustees (though the number has fluctuated over time, it usually has around 40 members).
At the time, Arland Christ-Janer, now deceased, was the President — a job he’d held for less than 3 years. However, records reflect that, by April 1970, Crist-Janer had already given notice that he intended to leave in July 1970.
The Chairman of the Board of Trustees, who led the search committee for Crist-Janer’s replacement, was Hans Estin, the current Vice Chairman Emeritus of North American Management whose biography says that he served as an Air Force pilot during the Korean War.
August 1st, 2010 at 10:55AM
Do we not think that [redacted] was John Silber? I mean, who else could call a meeting of the Board of Trustees? Unless it was whoever was then the chair of the Board of Trustees.
August 1st, 2010 at 10:56AM
Of course: your post says this. I was doing the blog thing of reading less as I hit the last third. Sorry UD.
August 1st, 2010 at 11:03AM
TR: I jumped to the Silber theory as well. But he wasn’t in the picture yet.
August 2nd, 2010 at 1:37PM
So, old Howard was a Stalinist card-carrying CPUSA member long after WW II was over and anyone with the slightest shred of intellectual integrity knew the nature of Stalin’s regime. Who ever would have guessed? The forces of repression at BU were so impotent that not even the chairman of the board could manage to turf out one of Old Joe’s American footmen.