|
ATLANTA - Former staff members, sellers, readers and fellow travelers of The Great Speckled Bird, Atlanta's radical, freaky, "underground" paper of the 1960's and 70's, will gather Saturday, May 24, for a 40th anniversary celebration. The "BirdBlast," which is open to the public, will be from 2 to 10 p.m. at the
B Complex,
1272 Murphy Avenue SW.
Hundreds from metro Atlanta and around the country are expected for the event, the first Bird get-together since the paper's 20th anniversary party in 1988, said Stephanie Coffin of Atlanta, a Bird cofounder. It will include exhibits of Bird graphics and articles, organized by themes; speakers; live music; jugglers; fire sculptures and more. Amy Goodman of Democracy Now! will speak at 5 p.m. Bird alumna State Senator Nan Orrock and other former staffers will also speak.
As an appetizer for the main event, an exhibit of Bird covers, graphics and articles will be on display May 5-18 at the Fulton County Public Library (main branch), fourth floor, 1 Margaret Mitchell Square (intersection of Carnegie Way and Forsyth Street in downtown Atlanta).
The Bird grew out of an anti-Vietnam War newsletter published in 1967 by a group of New Left activists at Emory University which included Coffin and her husband Tom. To reach a wider audience, they joined forces with students from other local colleges, political activists from the Southern Student Organizing Committee, VISTA and other organizations. The Bird chirped for the first time in March 1968.
From its modest beginnings as an 8-page black and white biweekly, The Bird bulked up quickly. Color was soon added. Weekly publication began in September '68. Within a couple of years, the average Bird was 28-32 pages. By 1970, with a circulation of 22,000, it was the largest-circulation weekly in Georgia.
For 8+ years, The Bird provided a progressive alternative voice to existing Atlanta media, supporting civil rights, free speech, draft resistance, women's and gay liberation, youth culture and the struggles of workers, Afro-Americans, students and antiwar GIs. It was an unwavering foe of the Vietnam war, US militarism, and repressive mainstream culture. Its pages also provided space for local artists, photographers and poets, local theatre and concert reviews, and interviews with Georgia musicians like the Allman Brothers and the Hampton Grease Band.
The paper set the tone in its premiere issue with a broadside attack on Atlanta icon Ralph McGill of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, "What's It All About, Ralphie?," for his support of
the Vietnam war. The Bird sometimes referred to the AJC as the "Urinal-Constipation" which "covered Dixie like dog doo."
Nor were other Atlanta sacred cows spared: A cover targeting Coca-Cola resulted in obscenity charges (later dropped). Investigative articles pilloried Georgia Power, the Cox media empire, Atlanta Housing Authority, slumlords and corruption in the Massell administration.
From the first issue, The Bird's radical politics, coverage of hippie culture, nude photos, uncensored prose and occasional scatological cartoons outraged conservative Georgians. It was banned in Savannah and Macon, and Governor Lester Maddox banned Bird vending machines at the State Capitol. Some high schools and even colleges suspended students who brought copies to school.
But the paper was eagerly embraced by many progressive activists and youth, a steady stream of whom left their small towns for the big city. For many young newcomers, their first stop in Atlanta was the Bird house on 14th Street, where they could pick up a stack of papers to sell on the streets and expressway entrances to pay for their next meal.
The Bird soon gained a national reputation as one of the best of the many "underground" papers which were springing up around the country. Mike Wallace of CBS' "60 Minutes," who interviewed Bird staff in Atlanta, called the paper "the Wall Street Journal of the underground press" - a reference to its journalistic quality, not its politics. Historian Howard Zinn recently said "the story of The Great Speckled Bird is an important unknown piece of Movement history."
Despite its reputation elsewhere, The Bird was harassed at home by the FBI, city government, Atlanta Police Department and local businesses. It was charged with obscenity and "inciting to riot" and subjected to politically-motivated building and fire inspections. Bird street sellers were arrested for panhandling, obstructing traffic and selling without a permit. Thanks to vigorous legal help from the ACLU and strong community support, none of the charges against The Bird or its sellers stuck, and the paper never lost a case in court.
When the paper's first printer, the DeKalb New Era press, dropped The Bird because of political pressure, the nearest printer the paper could find was in Montgomery, Alabama, 160 miles away. In 1973, The Bird's office at 240 Westminster Drive was firebombed after a series of articles on the Massell administration's lack of housing code enforcement.
In spite of these obstacles, The Bird persevered and never missed an issue for 8-1/2 years - not even after the firebombing.
The New Georgia Encyclopedia summed it up: "During its eight-year existence, The Great Speckled Bird symbolized and spoke for the New Left and counterculture in Georgia and the Deep South. It maintains a place of significance in the story of America's underground newspapers."
|
Georgia Encyclopedia Bird Article
