Sun Newspaper

[terryh]

Passing through Library Bookstore in Ferndale the other day I browsed a couple of copies of Sun newspaper from mid-seventies. Appeared to be an alternative mag with a progressive slant...there was an interesting article about corrupt cops colluding with gangster types in the distribution and sale of heroin, all but one defendant having been found guilty. Do any of you have memories of the periodical?

[daddeeo]

I remember seeing that rag when I was working on the South End down at Wayne State in the 70's.
They had a few head items for sale back in the day in the paper.

[eno]

Wasn't the Sun published by the Rainbow People's Party, the successor to the White Panther Party?

[Carey]

The Sun migrated from Ann Arbor to Detroit in about 1975. It was put out by Rainbow Peoples' Party types, including, I believe, John Sinclair, but by then the party was only a shadow of its former self, and the times defintely had changed from its 1960s' heyday.
The staff was mainly white, but its members were really into promoting African American culture, especially music. Nothing wrong with that, of course, but they carried that policy to extremes, such as playing cheerleader for Coleman Young and everything his administration was doing, which was unusual for a supposed alternative paper. I believe the Sun even ran the city seal and motto in every issue. During this era, the Fifth Estate ran a parody of the Sun. Main headline: "Jail John Now!"
For those under 45, that was a takeoff of the frequent cry of "Free John Now!" while Sinclair was unfairly imprisioned for marijuana.

[Bobl]

The Warren/Forest Sun. Still have a yellowed copy somewhere, announcing the Yippie Event, soon to occur at the Chicago Democratic Party Convention...

[eno]

Unrelated to the topic.

My fave Fifth Estate cover had a photograph of a pair of feet with a body tag placed on the big toe. The headline read "CHRIST BODY FOUND-EASTER CANCELLED". Brilliant.