Newly disclosed emails obtained by the Associated Press show former Indiana governor Mitch Daniels sought to remove Howard Zinn’s work from state classrooms just weeks after the historian’s death in 2010. Zinn’s many books include the classic, “A People’s History of the United States,” which sold more than a million copies and is still used in high schools and colleges across the country. In an email exchange with top Indiana education officials, Daniels wrote, “This terrible anti-American academic has finally passed away.” After he described “A People’s History” as a “truly execrable, anti-factual piece of disinformation that misstates American history on every page,” Daniels asked: “Can someone assure me that it is not in use anywhere in Indiana? If it is, how do we get rid of it before more young people are force-fed a totally false version of our history?” Daniels’ comments have sparked outrage within the academic world in part because he recently became the president of Purdue University in Indiana. We’re joined by two guests: Anthony Arnove, the co-editor with Zinn of “Voices of a People’s History of the United States,” a critically acclaimed primary-source companion to Zinn’s bestseller; and Dr. Cornel West, professor at Union Theological Seminary.
