The death of Howard Zinn last week at 87 is a loss deeply felt by the grassroots citizenry that he so ardently championed.

Zinn's longtime friend and ideological compatriot Noam Chomsky put the historian-activist's life of achievement in perspective in a quote from an obituary in the Boston Globe January 27:

"He made an amazing contribution to American intellectual and moral culture.  He's changed the conscience of America in a highly constructive way.  I really can't think of anyone I compare him to in this respect."

Scores of others of us, Dr. Chomsky, also cannot think of anyone to compare Howard Zinn in that respect, someone who delivered a lifelong commitment to America's intellectual and moral culture along with unswerving identification to serving people and seeking to help establish a progressive agenda.