Great Speckled Bird Newspaper Collection
Scope and Content
The collection is nearly a complete run of Great Speckled Bird: Volume 1, No. 1 - Volume 9, No. 9 March 15, 1968 - October 1976; Volume 10, Nos. 1-9 May 1984 to Jan./Feb. 1985. The following issues are missing: Volume 1 No. 2; Volume 2 No. 2 and 10; Volume 3 No. 3, 11, 29, 40; Volume 4 No. 11 and 44; Volume 6 No. 40.
Dates
- Creation: 1968-1984
Creator
- Great Speckled Bird. (Organization)
Access
The collection is open for research.
Biographical/Historical Note
Great Speckled Bird was the best-known of the underground newspapers in the Southeast during the late 1960s and 1970s and was especially popular with radical readership in Atlanta, its place of publication. It had its beginnings in anti-war newsletters edited by students at Emory University. These students collaborated with student groups from other southern universities, such as the Southern Student Organizing Committee (SSOC) to expand publication. In 1968, the first issue of Great Speckled Bird came out as a bi-weekly issue. It had a leftist perspective and quickly gained popularity as an alternative press. By the end of 1968 Great Speckled Bird was being printed weekly. It peaked in popularity in 1970, with a circulation of 23,000. In 1972, the office of Great Speckled Bird was bombed by an unknown person or persons probably as a result of the paper's radical views. Subsequently, many of the writers left. The popularity of the newspaper was also in decline. By 1973, the issues were once again being published on a bi-weekly basis, and in 1976, on a monthly basis. Great Speckled Bird ceased publication in 1976 although two efforts were made to revive it, one in 1984 and another in 2006. The newspaper remains a testament to counter culture sentiments in the South at the height of the Viet Nam War and Watergate crises.
Sources: Jonathan Springston, "Great Speckled Memories," Atlanta Progressive News, May 09, 2006. Christopher Allen Huff, "Great Speckled Bird," The New Georgia Encyclopedia Online, 2007. J.D. Cade, "1968-1975: Printing the news you're not suppose to know," www.greatspeckledbird.org.
Extent
3 Linear feet (7 boxes)
Language of Materials
English
Abstract
A run of the Great Speckled Bird, an alternate press and counter culture newspaper from Atlanta, Georgia.
Physical Location
University of Florida Smathers Library Building
Acquisition Information
Gift of former staff and writers for The Great Speckled Bird through Stephanie Coffin (September, 2008). Made at the time of the 40th anniversary of the founding of the publication.
- Title
- A Guide to the Great Speckled Bird Newspaper Collection
- Status
- Completed
- Author
- Finding aid created by Stephanie Slota
- Date
- December 2009
- Description rules
- Finding Aid Prepared Using Dacs
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
- Language of description note
- Description is written in English.
Repository Details
Part of the Special and Area Studies Collections, George A. Smathers Libraries, University of Florida Repository
George A. Smathers Libraries
PO Box 117005
Gainesville Florida 32611-7005 United States of America
352-273-2755
special@uflib.ufl.edu