Washington Free Press: Vol. 2, No. 20
The Washington Free Press began in 1966 as a community paper founded by representatives from the five colleges in the D.C. area. With its leftist and anti-war leanings, the_ Free Press_ fought for equal admittance and access to press briefings and quickly became an early member of the Underground Press Syndicate. Articles in this issue include “Mutinies at Fort Hood,” advice columns for the “Tax Refuser” and “Draft Resister,” a review of a Ravi Shankar performance, and a tribute to birth control reformer Bill Baird, among others.
From our 2016 exhibition Realize Your Desires, of which this work was a part: “Following the landmark Supreme Court decision of 1966 which allowed a more tolerant legal climate for publishers, the ‘Underground Press’ emerged as a site for radical commentary and critique in the US, progressing a number of social movements and shifting the cultural landscape at large. Usually published as weeklies – often in large editions – these publications provided a vibrant space for revolutionary ideas which played out on all fronts of politics and culture, addressing head-on a host of issues including the anti-war movement, black power movement, women’s liberation, gay rights, sexual liberation, and drug culture.”