Event to Celebrate Activists Lives on Sunday

The University of Pittsburgh is hosting an event to celebrate the lives of Dennis Brutus and Howard Zinn. Both men died this past year. In a news release History Professor Marcus Rediker said it is appropriate to honor the men together because they "combined brilliant thought and zealous activism to make change in the only real lasting and progressive way -with, in and for people's movements, from the bottom up."

Rediker was scheduled to host the event but is delayed in Europe due to all the clouds of volcanic ash. It will be hosted by community activists from The Thomas Merton Center.

Dennis Brutus was a South African poet who was imprisoned for his anti-apartheid writings. He later came to chair the Black Studies Department. Howard Zinn, a professor at Boston University was the well-known author of A People's History of The United States.

The event will be Sunday from 1-3 at The University of Pittsburgh's Clapp Hall Auditorium at 4249 5th Avenue in Oakland. Panelists include friends and colleagues of the two men.