''The Great Speckled Bird'' was a

counterculture A counterculture is a culture whose values and norms of behavior differ substantially from those of mainstream society, sometimes diametrically opposed to mainstream cultural mores.Eric Donald Hirsch. ''The Dictionary of Cultural Literacy''. Hou ...

underground newspaper The terms underground press or clandestine press refer to periodicals and publications that are produced without official approval, illegally or against the wishes of a dominant (governmental, religious, or institutional) group. In specific rec ...

based in

Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

from 1968 to 1976 and 1988 through 1990. Commonly known as ''The Bird'', it was founded by

New Left The New Left was a broad political movement mainly in the 1960s and 1970s consisting of activists in the Western world who campaigned for a broad range of social issues such as civil and political rights, environmentalism, feminism, gay rights, g ...

activists from

Emory University Emory University is a private research university in Atlanta, Georgia. Founded in 1836 as "Emory College" by the Methodist Episcopal Church and named in honor of Methodist bishop John Emory, Emory is the second-oldest private institution of ...

and members of the

Southern Student Organizing Committee The Southern Student Organizing Committee (SSOC) was a student activist group in the southern United States during the 1960s, which focused on many political and social issues including: African-American civil rights, opposition to the Vietnam W ...

, an offshoot of

Students for a Democratic Society Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) was a national student activist organization in the United States during the 1960s, and was one of the principal representations of the New Left. Disdaining permanent leaders, hierarchical relationships ...

. Founding editors included Tom and Stephanie Coffin, Howard Romaine and Gene Guerrero Jr. The first issue appeared March 8, 1968, and within 6 months it was publishing weekly. By 1970 it was the third largest weekly newspaper in Georgia with a paid circulation of 22,000 copies. The paper subscribed to

Liberation News Service Liberation News Service (LNS) was a New Left, anti-war underground press news agency that distributed news bulletins and photographs to hundreds of subscribing underground, alternative and radical newspapers from 1967 to 1981. Considered the "Asso ...

, a

leftist Left-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy. Left-wing politics typically involve a concern for those in soci ...

news

collective A collective is a group of entities that share or are motivated by at least one common issue or interest, or work together to achieve a common objective. Collectives can differ from cooperatives in that they are not necessarily focused upon an ...

. The office of ''The Great Speckled Bird'' at the north end of

Piedmont Park Piedmont Park is an urban park in Atlanta, Georgia, located about northeast of Downtown, between the Midtown and Virginia Highland neighborhoods. Originally the land was owned by Dr. Benjamin Walker, who used it as his out-of-town gentleman's ...

(240 Westminster Dr.) was firebombed and destroyed on May 6, 1972. In a letter to the editor of the ''New York Review of Books'', Jack Newfield et al. note that the bombing occurred after the paper published an

exposé Expose, exposé, or exposed may refer to: News sources * Exposé (journalism), a form of investigative journalism * '' The Exposé'', a British conspiracist website Film and TV Film * ''Exposé'' (film), a 1976 thriller film * ''Exposed'' (1932 ...

of the mayor of Atlanta. Writing in the ''Atlanta Magazine'', Justin Heckert described ''The Bird'' approach as one that treated objectivity as "a myth perpetuated by the capitalist press." According to a statement in ''The Bird'', "These are our opinions and we are entitled to them, they are not written anywhere else. So, don't expect us to tell both sides of the story. The big newspapers, magazines, TV and radio do that all day long. Here you will hear our side of things." ''The Bird'' chose to report on issues not covered in mainstream newspapers. The paper focused on the war in

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...

, black power, women's liberation, gay activism, red-baiting, Atlanta politics, labor, and environmental issues. ''The Bird's'' Women's Caucus challenged the paper's advertising norms and pushed the collective to share tasks more equitably. ''The'' ''Bird'' included comix by Ron Ausburn and contributions on art and culture by Miller Francis. The newspaper, affectionally known as "''The'' ''Bird''," was originally named after the country-gospel song of the same name. In 2011

Georgia State University Georgia State University (Georgia State, State, or GSU) is a Public university, public research university in Atlanta, Atlanta, Georgia. Founded in 1913, it is one of the University System of Georgia's four research universities. It is also the ...

made a digital archive of the ''Bird'' available online.

References

External links

''The Great Speckled Bird''
from the

digital collection
Great Speckled Bird
from th
New Georgia Encyclopedia

Stuart A. Rose Manuscript, Archives, and Rare Book Library
{{DEFAULTSORT:Great Speckled Bird Alternative weekly newspapers published in the United States Newspapers published in Atlanta Defunct newspapers published in Georgia (U.S. state) Publications established in 1968 Publications disestablished in 1976 Underground press 1968 establishments in Georgia (U.S. state) 1976 disestablishments in Georgia (U.S. state)

See also

References

External links