Do-It-Yourself Resistance: Atlanta Punk in the Late Twentieth Century Público

Abstract

This honors thesis explores how Atlanta punks utilized a variety of resistance strategies to take action on their political beliefs. American punk has gained more scholarly attention over the last several decades, but the South has largely been ignored. My work begins to attend to this gap in the scholarship by analyzing Atlanta punk in the 1980s and 1990s. I build on Kevin Dunn’s discussion of do-it-yourself ethics as a mobilizing force in American punk scenes, as well as on subculture and social movement theory by multiple authors. I bring together pre-existing literature on American punk with primary resources from the Atlanta, Georgia scene to establish the connection between punk and activism in a city and region often overlooked because of its conservatism and supposed lack of left-wing political energy. Additionally, in-depth interviews with members of the Atlanta scene from the 1980s and 1990s help build an image of a vibrant scene and the vast range of ways Atlanta punks were conducting resistance. I find that Atlanta punk was intensely political in this time period and punks’ tactics of using culture as a political tool, do-it-yourself activism, and constructing safe spaces in an unsafe environment can all be helpful for sustaining resistance in the South.

Table of Contents

Introduction………………………………………………………………………………........…1

“My Tribe of Misfits”: An Overview of Atlanta Punk……………………………………...9

“Whacking Through the Jungle”: DIY and Resistance Practices in Atlanta…...…....31

“Creativity is a Survival Skill”: Takeaways from Atlanta Punk Activism…………..…56

Epilogue: Atlanta Punk’s not Dead………………………………………………………......67

Bibliography…………………………………………………………………………….......…...70

About this Honors Thesis

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School	Emory College
Department	American Studies
Degree	B.A.
Submission	Honors Thesis
Language	English
Research Field	GLBT Studies Music American Studies
Palabra Clave	punk rock southern history Atlanta, GA music subculture
Committee Chair / Thesis Advisor	Dr. Margaret McGehee, Emory University
Committee Members	Dr. Joseph Crespino, Emory University Dr. Kim Loudermilk, Emory University

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