The Post Amerikan was a volunteer-run alternative newspaper printed in Bloomington-Normal, Illinois. It ran from 1972 to 2004, claiming the title of the longest continuously operating underground newspaper in the country. Determined to capture the paper’s effervescence, retired entomologist turned award-winning documentarian, Gary Fritz, spent five years creating The Post Amerikan: The Newspaper that Wouldn’t Die. The independently funded, feature-length film will premiere at the Normal Theatre on Friday, September 18 at 7 p.m.
The opening event offers an exclusive opportunity to see the film and join a Q&A with the filmmaker and Post Amerikan contributors. People are flying in from both coasts to reconnect and celebrate Post Amerikan's legacy.
During its tenure, the paper told stories other outlets would not. For 32 years, it chronicled the hopes, aspirations, and peculiarities of four generations of counterculture youth. The Post Amerikan exposed local abuses of power and commented on national issues for over three decades. It opposed the Vietnam War, advocated for the rights of workers across the country, and served as a voice for Black, women’s, and gay liberation.
“Everyone dreams things can or will get better,” Fritz says, “but things only get better when people activate and engage. The Post Amerikan’s history and its legacy demonstrate that activism and engagement can bring about positive change – even in a midsize town in the middle of the Corn Belt.”
Colleagues who previously worked on the newspaper introduced Fritz to the Post Amerikan and many of its contributors. In 2020, Fritz proposed and facilitated an agreement to digitize the nearly complete set of Post Amerikan issues held by the McLean County Museum of History. Eastern Illinois University’s Booth Library did so free of charge. Now, over 250 editions of the Post Amerikan are available online. Visit mchistory.org/research/post-amerikan to begin reading!
“This multi-year partnership highlights the power of collaboration and what can happen when digital technologies amplify historic preservation,” says Julie Emig, the museum’s executive director. “Future generations can now access the story of the Post Amerikan in various mediums and learn from this treasure trove of community voices that transcend time.”
Fritz plans to enter The Post Amerikan: The Newspaper that Wouldn’t Die into the film festival circuit before making the documentary available to stream online.
Support from the following sponsors made the premiere possible: ACLU Illinois, Ecology Action Center, McLean County Museum of History, PFLAG, Prairie Pride Coalition, and several Illinois State University entities including the Department of History, Milner Library, Queer Coalition, School of Communication, Center for Civic Engagement, Department of Government & Politics, and the Women’s, Gender, & Sexuality Studies Program.
Click here to view the film’s teaser trailer.
Tickets are $8 for adults and free for students. Stop by the Normal Theatre’s box office or click here to get your tickets!
Questions? Click here to contact us.
