The late Howard Zinn gave one of his final interviews for the first film biography of Alice Walker, Alice Walker: Beauty in Truth. Zinn first met Walker when she became his student at Spelman College. In this web exclusive outtake from the film, Zinn likens Alice Walker to Zora Neale Hurston, Walker’s “hero,” saying Walker was not afraid to offend either whites or blacks, she was honest. Zinn, an historian, playwright, activist, was Walker’s first professor at Spelman College and a key influence on her intellectual and political education.

Watch Howard Zinn Interview on Alice Walker

Alice Walker: Beauty in Truth premieres nationally Friday, February 7 at 9 p.m. on PBS (check local listings).