From OP:

> We need Howard Zinn now more than ever. Not for the sake of romance or to construct another hero in history. We need his insights, his politics, and his commitment to the struggle for a better world.

Unless your position is that there is such a thing as an unbiased history or that Zinn presented historical falsehoods (not a usual position even among Zinn's critiques), I don't think the valid points you raise on the 1619 project rebut the thesis of the OP.