--- title: "5 Direct action Quotes By Howard Zinn" description: "5 Direct action quotes by Howard Zinn. Plus more from Howard Zinn and more Direct action sayings from other authors." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c54/howard-zinn-576_action_strike-is-always-a-form-of-direct-action_474969.jpg" --- > [Strike is always a form of direct action. With the strike, too, you are not asking government to make things easier for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/strike-is-always-a-form-of-direct-action-with-the-strike-too-you-are/) [Howard Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-zinn/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c54/howard-zinn-576_action_strike-is-always-a-form-of-direct-action_474969.jpg) > [The idea of direct action against the evil that you want to overcome is a kind of common denominator for anarchist ideas…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/the-idea-of-direct-action-against-the-evil-that-you-want-to-overcome/) [Howard Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-zinn/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/022/howard-zinn-576_action_the-idea-of-direct-action-against-the-ev_774906.jpg) > [There is one central characteristic of anarchism on the matter of means, and that central principle is a principle of direct action…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/there-is-one-central-characteristic-of-anarchism-on-the-matter-of/) [Howard Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-zinn/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/139/howard-zinn-576_action_there-is-one-central-characteristic-of-a_904619.jpg) > [Voting is easy and marginally useful, but it is a poor substitute for democracy, which requires direct action by concerned citizens.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/voting-is-easy-and-marginally-useful-but-it-is-a-poor-substitute-for/) [Howard Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-zinn/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b31/howard-zinn-576_action_voting-is-easy-and-marginally-useful-but_1639400.jpg) > [Each situation has to be evaluated separately, for all are different. In general, I believe in non-violent direct action, which involve organizing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/each-situation-has-to-be-evaluated-separately-for-all-are-different/) [Howard Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-zinn/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/454/howard-zinn-576_action_each-situation-has-to-be-evaluated-separ_2592454.jpg) ## Other authors on Direct action - [Martin Luther King, Jr 12 quotes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/direct-action/martin-luther-king-jr/) - [ ![](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b009/author-emma-goldman-33179.jpg) Emma Goldman 6 quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/direct-action/emma-goldman/) ## More by Howard Zinn > [“A black man, Benjamin Banneker, who taught himself mathematics and astronomy, predicted accurately a solar eclipse, and was appointed to plan the new city…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/a-black-man-benjamin-banneker-who-taught-himself-mathematics-and/) [Howard Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-zinn/) > [There is no flag large enough to cover the shame of killing innocent people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/there-is-no-flag-large-enough-to-cover-the-shame-of-killing-innocent/) [Howard Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-zinn/) > [“a good education is a synthesis of book learning and involvement in social action, because each enrich the other. The accumulation of knowledge, while…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/a-good-education-is-a-synthesis-of-book-learning-and-involvement-in/) [Howard Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-zinn/) > [The mountain of history books under which we all stand leans so heavily in the other direction-so tremblingly respectful of states and statesmen and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/the-mountain-of-history-books-under-which-we-all-stand-leans-so/) [Howard Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-zinn/) > [Let's face a historical truth: we have never had a "free market", we have always had government intervention in the economy, and indeed that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/let-s-face-a-historical-truth-we-have-never-had-a-free-market-we-have/) [Howard Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-zinn/) > [I can UNDERSTAND pessimism, but I don't BELIEVE in it. It's not simply a matter of faith, but of historical EVIDENCE. Not overwhelming evidence,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/i-can-understand-pessimism-but-i-don-t-believe-in-it-it-s-not-simply/) [Howard Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-zinn/) > [Protest beyond the law is not a departure from democracy; it is absolutely essential to it. It is a corrective to the sluggishness of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/protest-beyond-the-law-is-not-a-departure-from-democracy-it-is/) [Howard Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-zinn/) > [Now I have been studying very closely what happens every day in the courts in Boston, Massachusetts. You would be astounded--maybe you wouldn't, maybe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/now-i-have-been-studying-very-closely-what-happens-every-day-in-the/) [Howard Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-zinn/) > [They were not mentioned in the Declaration of Independence, they were absent in the Constitution and they were invisible in the new political democracy.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/they-were-not-mentioned-in-the-declaration-of-independence-they-were/) [Howard Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-zinn/) > [“Sexual purity was to be the special virtue of a woman. It was assumed that men, as a matter of biological nature, would sin,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/sexual-purity-was-to-be-the-special-virtue-of-a-woman-it-was-assumed/) [Howard Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-zinn/) > [“Middle-class Americans might be invited to join a new elite by attacks against the corruption of the established rich. The New Yorker Cadwallader Colden,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/middle-class-americans-might-be-invited-to-join-a-new-elite-by/) [Howard Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-zinn/) > [If those in charge of our society - politicians, corporate executives, and owners of press and television - can dominate our ideas, they will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/if-those-in-charge-of-our-society-politicians-corporate-executives/) [Howard Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-zinn/) > [We were not born critical of existing society. There was a moment in our lives (or a month, or a year) when certain facts…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/we-were-not-born-critical-of-existing-society-there-was-a-moment-in/) [Howard Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-zinn/) > [Behind the deceptive words designed to entice people into supporting violence -- words like democracy, freedom, self-defense, national security -- there is the reality…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/behind-the-deceptive-words-designed-to-entice-people-into-supporting/) [Howard Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-zinn/) > [“George Washington had turned down the requests of blacks, seeking freedom, to fight in the Revolutionary army. So when the British military commander in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/george-washington-had-turned-down-the-requests-of-blacks-seeking/) [Howard Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-zinn/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "ItemList", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/direct-action/howard-zinn/#itemlist", "name": "5 Direct action Quotes By Howard Zinn", "numberOfItems": 5, "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Strike is always a form of direct action. 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