Howard Romaine oral history interview, 2017-08-04

Partial Transcript: ANDY REISINGER: We're live again.

Segment Synopsis: Picking up where he left off in a previous interview, Romaine describes the first time he went to Manuel's Tavern in Atlanta and the role that Manuel's played as a meeting place. He talks about how the owner, Manuel, was interested in liberal Catholicism. Romaine describes several conversations he's had with friends who were aware of the liberal movement in Atlanta because they subscribed to the Great Speckled Bird.

Keywords: Manuel's Tavern

Subjects: Catholic Church; Underground newspapers

Partial Transcript: ANDY REISINGER: Remind me the month that you moved here in '67

Segment Synopsis: Romaine talks about the founding of the Great Speckled Bird and the early focus on the Vietnam War draft and Civil Rights. He describes the origis of the name "The Great Speckled Bird"

Subjects: Civil rights; Underground newspapers; Vietnam War, 1961-1975--Protest movements

Partial Transcript: HOWARD ROMAINE: But I want to jump way back to my dad and mom if I can.

Segment Synopsis: Romaine describes his father's return from the Philipines in World War II after being missing in action for over three years. He explains how his mother moved the family home to New Iberia, Louisiana from California in order to better take care of the family while Romaine's father recovered. Romaine describes his earliest political memory of Truman winning the presidential election, which took place on the trip from California to Louisiana.

Subjects: World War (1939-1945)

Partial Transcript: HOWARD ROMAINE: But the big event in that period of time, on reflection, long-time reflection, was the passage of Brown v. Board in 1954.

Segment Synopsis: Romaine reflects on his memories of the Brown vs. Board of Education decision.

Subjects: Brown vs. Board of Education of Topeka

Partial Transcript: ROMAINE: My mother, you know, another story I can tell you that she told me, after they kind of got my dad kind of settled down and medicated

Segment Synopsis: Romaine discusses his father's experiences while missing in action in the Philippines during World War II. He also describes the impact his father's health had on his family upon returning.

Subjects: World War (1939-1945)

Partial Transcript: HOWARD ROMAINE: One of the interesting things about looking at Anne's interviews

Segment Synopsis: Romaine talks about his late wife's Master's project, in which she interviewed people who were involved with the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party.

Subjects: Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party

Partial Transcript: ANDY REISINGER: We've been talking about it without talking about it. We've been talking about the South.

Segment Synopsis: Romaine discusses the American South and what it means to be a southerner. He talks about civil rights and his relationship with Julian Bond and the diversity of the South.

Subjects: Civil rights; Southern States

Partial Transcript: HOWARD ROMAINE: Including me, I had two breakdowns.

Segment Synopsis: Romaine describes his involvement with SSOC.

Subjects: Civil rights movements; Civil rights workers

Partial Transcript: ANDY REISINGER: When you came to Atlanta, I guess your impressions from '64 when you were passing through, but also when y'all landed here to live in '67, you were talking about Manuel's and sort of what the feeling of that institution was, and who was coming together there, what were your impressions of Atlanta as a city when you came in terms of the sort of people that were living here, the connections among the people, the political possibility...

Segment Synopsis: Romaine discusses his early impressions of Atlanta and his career with the Southern Student Human Relations Project.

Keywords: SSOC

Subjects: Moving, Household

Partial Transcript: HOWARD ROMAINE: See, if I want to be a newspaper guy, if my final goal is to have a small newspaper in the south where I can write, cover cultural events, whatever, I'm going to need some money.

Segment Synopsis: Romaine talks about the early days of the Great Speckled Bird in 1967.

Subjects: Underground newspapers

Partial Transcript: HOWARD ROMAINE: Although people were studying it critically at places like the Institute for Policy Studies where I did go for a semester.

Segment Synopsis: Romaine talks about trying to avoid the draft during the Vietnam War.

Subjects: Draft registration; Vietnam War (1961-1975)

Partial Transcript: HOWARD ROMAINE: So the Bird group was a big coalition, a broad coalition of people who had been in the civil rights movement, they were peace people they were cultural arts people, you know we all came together to start this paper...

Segment Synopsis: Romaine discusses the wide spectrum of backgrounds that made up the Great Speckled Bird staff.

Subjects: Underground newspapers

Partial Transcript: HOWARD ROMAINE: At that point I think Sue Thrasher had been up north and had been working at the Institute in DC

Segment Synopsis: Romaine explains how he transitioned from the Great Speckled Bird to working for the Institute for Southern Studies. He also talks about subsequent newspapers that followed the tradition of the Great Speckled Bird, such as Creative Loafing.

Subjects: Underground newspapers

Partial Transcript: HOWARD ROMAINE: Yeah, the head of LSU law school was a key member of the Nuremberg legal team.

Segment Synopsis: Romaine discusses the similarities of racism faced in Nazi Germany and the Southern US.

Subjects: Racism