Have You Heard #213 The Kids are Alright
Feb 19, 2026
Aaron Fountain, scholar and author of High School Students Unite, digs up forgotten 20th-century teen activism with extensive archival research. He recounts thousands of student groups and underground papers, citywide organizing and walkouts that forced quick wins. He also uncovers school censorship, parent reports to the FBI, and how students pushed for curriculum and governance changes.
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High School Activism Was Nationwide
- High school student activism in the 1960s and 70s was nationwide and extensive, not just a college phenomenon.
- Aaron Fountain found over 500 independent student organizations and 1,000 underground high school papers across urban, rural, and even overseas DoD schools.
Corncob Curtain Sparked A Citywide Ban
- The Corncob Curtain in Indianapolis reached 3,000 copies citywide and was banned after a provocative cartoon called George the Cat.
- Students hitchhiked distribution across schools, showing grassroots networks and why administrators panicked.
Civic Education Made Repression Backfire
- Postwar secondary education emphasized teaching constitutional rights and civic participation, creating a contradiction when schools punished student activism.
- That contradiction fueled more student organizing like underground papers and student unions demanding curricular and governance changes.
