I recently completed the poster to promote the first ever Howard Zinn Bookfair that will be held at San Francisco’s Mission High School on November 15th 2014. It is a celebration of the books that make us rethink our roles in the world and connect people with hidden histories…

“To be hopeful in bad times is not just foolishly romantic. It is based on the fact that human history is a history not only of cruelty, but also of compassion, sacrifice, courage, kindness.

What we choose to emphasize in this complex history will determine our lives. If we see only the worst, it destroys our capacity to do something. If we remember those times and places—and there are so many—where people have behaved magnificently, this gives us the energy to act, and at least the possibility of sending this spinning top of a world in a different direction.

And if we do act, in however small a way, we don’t have to wait for some grand utopian future. The future is an infinite succession of presents, and to live now as we think human beings should live, in defiance of all that is bad around us, is itself a marvelous victory.”-Howard Zinn

Lifetime Achievement Awards will be presented to:
Marcus Bookstore is the nation’s oldest black-owned bookstore located in the historic Fillmore District. Over the past year, community members have rallied in an ongoing campaign to save the store from eviction.

Elizabeth “Betita” Martínez (born 1925) is a Chicana feminist, community organizer and author. She has written numerous books and articles on different topics relating to social movements in the Americas. Her best-known work is the bilingual 500 years of Chicano History in Pictures which later formed the basis for the educational video ¡Viva la Causa! 500 Years of Chicano History.