May 11, 2006 at 13:13:29

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Great Speckled Memories

By Jonathan Springston, Posted by Matthew Cardinale (about the submitter)     Page 4 of 6 page(s)

opednews.com     Permalink

The Bird volunteer who asked not to be named for this story said she had worked for The Bird from 1968 until 1973 covering student and political news, helped put together a calendar of events. She told Atlanta Progressive News the task was difficult because staff members had to pound the pavement, travel by foot to universities, and keep up with the mail to create the calendar.

The Bird would learn of lectures and antiwar marches, as well as other events, by looking at university bulletin boards. This was before Creative Loafing, the Internet, and other sources existed to provide that kind of information.

Many of the freakish but brilliant sketches and drawings adorning the pages from 1968 to 1972 were created by the talented late Ron Ausburn and were reminiscent of the macabre style of gonzo sketch artist Ralph Steadman.

Writers for The Bird were united by one thing: the search for truth. The Bird existed during perhaps the most chaotic period in American history. Production played out against the Vietnam War and the Civil Rights, Free Speech, and Women's Rights Movements.

News and Activism as Overlapping Goals

For many staffers, involvement in progressive politics did not begin with work at The Bird. Many early staffers were already well trained in civil rights, anti-war demonstrations, and organizing.

Goodman, who wrote for The Bird for four years starting in 1968 covering transportation, labor, and anti-war issues, was opposed to the Vietnam War before reaching The Bird.

The time Goodman spent at the University of Missouri allowed him to work with the Congress of Racial Equality to organize sit-ins before moving to Atlanta in 1966 to teach at Morehouse College while doing graduate work. Goodman left before he could finish his doctoral degree.

Brewer, who wrote for The Bird in the early '70s covering local issues, came from “liberal, non-activist” parents and wrote some for her high school and college newspapers. She became interested in feminism and joined The Bird after seeing an advertisement.

Brodek was opposed to the Vietnam War strictly for geopolitical reasons. It was during the two years he spent in Germany before coming to Atlanta in 1967 that he heard about the atrocities happening in Vietnam that turned his opposition into a moral one.

Romaine, who also came to Atlanta in 1967 with his wife Anne after finishing his Master's Degree in Philosophy, was interested in the Civil Rights Movement in the South and the electoral politics that grew out of that.

These issues were the main topics Romaine covered during his time at The Bird. Anne also wrote for The Bird, including a review of a Joan Baez book.M

Orrock became involved in progressive politics when she participated in 1963's March on Washington, the site of Martin Luther King Jr.'s famous “I Have a Dream” speech. That march “really changed my thinking” on racism and segregation, Orrock said.

In 1967, Orrock and her husband moved to Atlanta. Along with five others, including Anne and Howard Romaine, Orrock helped start The Bird with the goal of providing a different perspective on the issues. Orrock sold papers, set type, and wrote stories, particularly about labor and women's issues, working on and off for pay.

The End of the Beginning

By late 1972, things began to change at The Bird. One office had been firebombed, leaving the paper and its staff in limbo for months. The cost of the paper had risen to 20 cents and would later climb to 25 cents per issue in March 1973.

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