I missed The People Speak!
Color me embarrassed.
I forgot to set the DVR last night to save The People Speak on the History Channel. The People Speak is the TV documentary version of Howard Zinn’s Voices of a People’s History.
Democracy is not a spectator sport. Using dramatic and musical performances of the letters, diaries and speeches of everyday Americans, THE PEOPLE SPEAK gives voice to those who spoke up for social change throughout U.S. history, forging a nation from the bottom up with their insistence on equality and justice. Narrated by Howard Zinn and based on his best-selling books, A People’s History of the United States and Voices of a People’s History of the United States, THE PEOPLE SPEAK illustrates the relevance of these passionate historical moments to our society today and reminds us never to take liberty for granted.
And I didn’t remember until Mike Zimmer reminded me.
It doesn’t look like they’re going to re-air it anytime soon. Well . . . there is a nice teacher’s guide you can download, Howard Zinn’s site to visit, video clips at Vimeo and at the Voices of a People site and some nice resources. Eventually there will be a DVD of the event coming out.
But it would have been nice to watch it last night.
History Tech 
And this truly concerns you? Even with the completely and totally slanted views of the guy and of those twits that were on the show? I mean we are talking about people who openly support Castro and Chavez…
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not in favor of ANY political bias in my education. But I refuse to support a guy who is completely left-wing and revisionist in his views.
Eric,
It does concern me. I like to listen to Howard Zinn but also listen to Fox News, CNN, C-Span, John Stewart – read the Wall Street Journal & the Washington Post – I’ll even browse over to the National Review and the Huffington Post once a week or so.
So I would disagree a bit with your “not in favor of ANY political bias in my education” statement. The world is full of political bias and what better place to learn how to read, interpret and digest that political bias than in an educational setting? Ignoring those we disagree with doesn’t make them disappear. We need to teach our students how to engage with all sorts of people.
I am especially sorry I missed The People Speak because the show was all about the primary source documents themselves, the actual words of past and present Americans. I would have especially liked to hear the reading of Fredrick Douglas when he said “if there is no struggle, there is no progress. Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never did and it never will.”
That’s what I was hoping to see and hear – the story of ordinary Americans striving for what America promises. What a great way to connect past and present! Both those who voted for President Barack Obama and those who attend current Tea Party events have much in common with the stories shared in The People Speak – a common desire for progress.
Thanks for your comment!
glennw
Yeah, I was a little quick on that “political bias” comment. I know that bias is in everything we read and it is up to us, particularly in an educational setting, to sift through the bias and lenses people use and get to the facts. I’m simply not in favor of listening to Howard Zinn and his ilk. Primary sources…now that’s another thing all together. I love me some primary sources!
Sorry for the quick shot-gun blast and thanks for the response.
Eric,
I agree! Primary sources can tell us so much, especially about bias. Maybe that would be the teaching tool – take the same primary sources used by The People Speak and give them to kids just as transcribed text. Have kids evaluate the document’s statements, bias, perspective. Then have them listen to The People Speak’s oral interpretation of them and compare the two somehow. Maybe ask kids how the actual document can be biased AND how the interpretation itself can involve bias.
Just thinking off the top of my head. Mmmmm . . . will need to give that some more thought.
Thanks again for your follow-up comment!
glennw
There is a great benefit of these videos for history teachers. They are reading the actual speeches written by historical people that the students study. I played the Sojourner Truth video last year and the kids loved it. They had just studied her Ain’t I a Woman speech. We also teach about Frederick Douglass and Henry David Thoreau. It is great that the kids get to hear these people speak in their own words.
Jeff,
You’re right – there is a huge emotional connection to the content when it’s presented in this way. As Eric said, “I love me some primary sources!”
glennw