Gould Beech (1913-2000) was an outspoken liberal journalist for the Anniston Star, Montgomery Advertiser, and the editor of Southern Farmer. Beech regularly denounced lynching, disfranchisement, and the corrupt tenant farmer system in the South. Born in Florence, Alabama, Beech majored in journalism at the University of Alabama. Upon graduation he received a full time position at the Anniston Star. He later joined the Montgomery Advertiser as an associate editor. During World War II, Beech served as chief of the Information and Education Division of the U.S. Army’s Orientation Branch. His service allowed him to connect with pro-New Deal politicians Hugo Black and Lister Hill. Following the war, Beech worked as the editor of Southern Farmer and also managed Jim Folsom’s successful gubernatorial race in 1946. Beech was denounced as a Communist and Leftist that ultimately drove him and his wife from Alabama in 1950. In their new home Houston, Texas, Gould and his wife, Mary, continued to aide several political candidates, including Barbara Jordan’s successful run as the first black female Texas state senator. The Beech’s returned to Alabama in the 1970s and remained in their home state until their deaths in 2000. (Source: Encyclopedia of Alabama)