Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

The Underground Press In Grand Rapids: The Root, Ian M. Post

Grand Valley Journal of History

In the midst of the socially turbulent 1960s, the underground press movement in America sought to restore journalism and report on issues that the rising youth and New Left believed were important. Many believed these newspapers were subversive because of the content and goals of their publications, which drove their creators "underground". Despite the political and social conservatism of West Michigan, the Grand Rapids area was not exempt from the underground press movement. Several underground newspapers, discovered in the Grand Rapids Public Library's archives, provide an account of the local contribution to this national context, specifically in The Root.