The Post Amerikan began publication in 1972 in Bloomington-Normal, Illinois. An underground, alternative newspaper, it was run collectively by volunteers and funded by subscriptions, ads sales, and community fundraisers. The paper was published from 1972 to 2004, making its 32 years the longest continuous publication run for any underground newspaper in America.
The Post Amerikan Project was spurred by award-winning documentary filmmaker Gary Fritz, an EIU professor emeritus. Dr. Fritz initiated a collaboration between the McLean County Museum of History, owner of an archive of nearly all the Post Amerikan's 32 year run of issues, and EIU's Booth Library. Booth Library's Tina Jenkins, of the Scholarly Communications unit, digitized the McLean County Museum's collection, making this historic newspaper available online for the first time.
Dr. Fritz also collaborated with writers and editors of the Post Amerikan, notably Mark Silverstein, William Weber (an EIU professor emeritus), Robert Funk (an EIU professor emeritus), and others in his documentary work. This collection highlights the digitization and documentary process, featuring photos, video interviews, and of course the digitized series of the Post Amerikan.
Browse the Post Amerikan Project Collections:
The Post Amerikan Project – Videos
