Readers are asked to find the “six pigs hidden in the image” before JoJo and Loretta can, devoid of narc paranoia, light up their joint in the park. In any given issue of The Bird, you might find an article on The Jimi Hendrix Experience with a critique on Coca-Cola alongside a note to “go fuck yourself.” As far as The Bird’s more irreverent content a good example takes the form of a Where’s Waldo style drawing appearing on the “Puzzle Page” of the Januissue. It was intensely ironic that the AJC, the very same media outlet (back before it took on the J) that was frequently under fire in The Bird for editor Ralph McGill’s open support of the Vietnam War, was now a source for information on the long-since active weekly paper. Orrock stated, “ The Bird became Atlanta’s meeting place for progressive thought.” This quote followed discussions of just how badly Bird staffers thought the mainstream media was lacking. In their coverage of the rise and fall of The Great Speckled Bird they cited Senator Nan Orrock (D-Atlanta) one of The Bird’s founding members, who described what the paper meant to people. In 2018 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution answered an inquiry about what ever happened to the alt-weekly paper.
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That it got its start on the Emory University campus and was originally intended to be a multi-campus underground newspaper makes The Bird’s growth all the more impressive. A collective with a shared interest that fed the community the news they were looking for, the grittier low down on things that actually mattered to 20 and 30-somethings with a propensity to smoke, attend rock concerts and fight for social justice. Articles that went to print were also determined by popular vote, ensuring the paper maintained a fresh perspective and a very high quality of journalism. The Bird’s internal structure was even reflective of the Leftist politics their paper was known for instead of abiding by a traditional hierarchical structure, staff members would switch in and out of editor positions. It gave many people a voice and a place to publish their artwork or poetry. The Great Speckled Bird could be depended on for honest reporting and it also served its readers who were able to use the publication to find other like-minded individuals. It was Atlanta’s first underground paper and by the time 1970 rolled around it was also the third-largest weekly newspaper in Georgia with 22,000 copies circulating. This meant that a vendor who chose to sell papers for The Bird in the “Hip Community” or to out-of-towners could turn between a 5-10 cent profit and never risked losing money by all accounts this was a rare opportunity at the time. For 15 cents, an Atlanta resident with an interest in gay liberation, the women’s movement or the Black Panther Party could purchase a copy of The Bird. The Bird grew quickly from the date of its first publication on Main six months it had transformed into a weekly publication. Anti-Vietnam war sentiments were interspersed with cheeky graphics, making a truly relatable newspaper that also filled a void in media at the time. Brought together by frustration with conservative Atlanta news outlets, The Bird’s founders created something unique that addressed both politics and the counterculture. The Great Speckled Bird, a moniker that nods to the newspaper’s Southern-ness, soon became colloquially referred to as just “The Bird.” “Printing the news you’re not supposed to know” reads the tagline of the underground hippie newspaper. The name came from a song of the same title by Roy Acuff, the first living member inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame. Hippies in Atlanta are no new phenomenon, but it is the originals, the ones whose political motivations aligned with their unkempt style of dress who gave us The Great Speckled Birdpublication.
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Take a stroll around Little Five Points and you’ll see “hippies” outfitted in Free People and their favorite thrifted finds, lining the block waiting to access their local crystal shop (mind you, I’m often one of them).