The initial series in this collection contains a variety of personal materials as well as biographical articles and interviews. Among its highlights are school and military records, photographs, datebooks (1967-2008) and trip memorabilia.

Personal correspondence includes letters from family members and friends; Daniel and Philip Berrigan, Kurt Vonnegut and Alice Walker are among the more well-known. In addition, there is correspondence and related material that describes Zinn's dismissal from Spelman College as well as letters of support and good wishes on his retirement from Boston University. One folder within this series contains recipes that had been clipped by Zinn and were found here and there within the collection.

Several folders contain portions of the Federal Bureau of Investigation file maintained on Howard Zinn beginning in 1949 (File # 100-30217). In July 2010 the FBI released the file; it may be accessed in two sections at http://www.archive.org/details/Howard.Zinn_FBI.file_pt.1 and http://www.archive.org/details/Howard_Zinns_FBI_file_pdf_2_and_3 .

Spanning almost fifty years, Series II contains a wide variety of correspondence from strangers, acquaintances, colleagues and publishers. Much of the material could be classified as fan mail although there are critical letters as well. Many of the correspondents are involved in progressive causes championed by Zinn and the letters often reflect the personal experiences of those for whom Zinn's writings resonate. There are also requests for job or school references as well as letters asking for Zinn's participation in a variety of events and projects. Some of the correspondence is neither to nor from Zinn, but appears to have been shared with him by others.

Zinn's annotations appear on some of the material and there are retained copies of a few of his responses. In a good number of instances, related items are included with the incoming letters (e.g., articles, reviews, clippings). Some well-known persons may be found within this series. Examples include Bill Moyers, Pete Seeger, Herbert Aptheker, Eqbal Ahmad and Noam Chomsky.

In addition to general correspondence, the series also contains two specific groups of letters. The first, reflecting Zinn's interest in justice and the rights of the incarcerated, consists of correspondence with prisoners; some are well-known, such as Kathy Boudin and Mumia Abu-Jamal. The second group of letters involves students, many at the secondary school level. A number of teachers either introduced Zinn writings in their class or invited him to visit and speak to the students. In both cases, the students were asked to write to Zinn with their reactions, questions or criticisms.

This large series reflects the range of Zinn's writing, containing actual examples (e.g., articles, essays, book forewords, afterwards, introductions, speeches and pamphlets) as well as much related material including correspondence, contracts, publicity, research notes and reviews. Book and screenplay proposals, album liner notes, letters to the editor, eulogies and special reports are also addressed.

There is a copy of his doctoral dissertation, "Conscience of the Jazz Age: La Guardia in Congress", along with a personal hand-written card from Mrs. Marie LaGuardia. Of particular interest is a 767-page typescript of A People's History of the United States, with corrections, revisions and paste-over insertions in Zinn's hand. Similar editor's proof versions of The Politics of History and You Can't be Neutral on a Moving Train are also included.

This series documents many of Howard Zinn's appearances and speaking engagements including lectures, speeches, panel participation, Congressional hearings, radio broadcasts, trial testimony and awards ceremonies. Arranged chronologically by the date of each event, materials may include correspondence, flyers and advertisements, press, contracts/agreements, notes and a few speech transcripts. In some cases, there is only a letter requesting his participation, annotated with the word "No".

The first Boston University (BU) subseries focuses on Howard Zinn's teaching career including course syllabi, a few lecture transcripts, a number of his annual appointment forms and student evaluations of his teaching for the years 1969 through 1983. There are many examples of student work – papers, projects, journals and independent study – and a good deal of associated materials. The student journals not only provide a glimpse into the conduct of Zinn's classes and the materials he used, but also reveal reactions of the individual students.

The second, and much larger subseries, documents many crises and controversies that occurred during Zinn's time at BU including suppression of academic freedom and civil liberties, censorship of campus press, attempts to build and strengthen the AAUP and other unions on campus, tenure and salary grievances, strikes and demonstrations, issues surrounding various University trustees and many examples of the rancor between Zinn and John Silber, former BU president. Some of the conflicts continue even after Zinn's retirement, including his active opposition to Silber's gubernatorial candidacy in 1990. It should be noted that material concerning specific controversies may be found in multiple folders. An event might, for example, appear in a general controversies folder, in a folder focused on the Committee to Save Boston University, in a folder addressing AAUP activities and in a folder titled with the name of the particular issue.