The Great Speckled Bird Exhibit, featuring an underground newspaper that emerged in Atlanta, Georgia in the 1960s, is now available in Columbus State University’s Schwob Memorial Library.

The Great Speckled Bird, commonly known as The Bird, was the most popular underground newspaper of its time and represented a new radical voice from the south.

“The Bird criticized the Atlanta city government, challenging it in ways that other newspapers, like the Atlanta Constitution, wouldn't,” said Gary Sprayberry, chair of the History and Geography Department. It also covered a range of topics including national and local politics, women’s issues, gay liberation, reproductive choice, music, and art. Sprayberry and Professor Joseph Miller from the Department of English will host two events that educate the Columbus State community on the history and impact of The Bird.

• Thursday, Sept 11: Historian Christopher Huff of Beacon College will give a lecture entitled "Reporting the News, Making the News: The Great Speckled Bird, Atlanta, and the Southern Sixties.” at 12:30 p.m. in the CSU library.
  
  
• Thursday, Sept 25: A panel of former Great Speckled Bird staffers will gather for a forum at noon in the CSU library.

By attending the events, the CSU community will have the opportunity to gain awareness and build connections between the 1960s and today, through the stories of people who protested against the Vietnam War and represented the New Left in Atlanta, Sprayberry said.

The Bird exhibit and accompanying events will emphasize the political activism of southern college students and “inspire students to share their voices and become more politically active,” said Sprayberry.

The exhibit and events are open to the public.

For more information contact Dr. Gary Sprayberry at (706)-507-8356.