Jerry Rubin facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Jerry Rubin
Rubin in 1970
Born	Jerry Clyde Rubin (1938-07-14)July 14, 1938 Cincinnati, Ohio, U.S.
Died	November 28, 1994(1994-11-28) (aged 56) Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Education	Oberlin College Hebrew University University of Cincinnati (BA) University of California, Berkeley
Spouse(s)	Mimi Leonard (1978–1992)
Children	2

Jerry Clyde Rubin (July 14, 1938 – November 28, 1994) was an American social activist and leader during the 1960s and early 1970s. He was well-known for his strong views against the Vietnam War. Jerry Rubin was a co-founder of the Youth International Party (YIP), whose members were called Yippies. He was also part of the famous Chicago Seven court case. Later in his life, in the 1970s, he changed his focus and became a successful businessman.

Early Life and Education

Jerry Rubin was born in Cincinnati, Ohio. His mother, Esther, was a homemaker, and his father, Robert, was a truck driver who later worked for a union.

Rubin went to Walnut Hills High School in Cincinnati. He helped edit the school newspaper and finished school in 1956. He also wrote sports scores for The Cincinnati Post. After high school, he studied at Oberlin College and Hebrew University in Jerusalem. He later earned a history degree from the University of Cincinnati. In 1964, Rubin attended the University of California, Berkeley, but he left to focus on social activism.

After his parents passed away, Rubin took care of his younger brother, Gil, who was 13. Jerry wanted to show Gil the world. He first planned to take him to India, but then decided to go to Israel. They settled in Tel Aviv. There, Rubin worked on a kibbutz, which is a community farm. He also studied sociology. His brother, Gil, learned Hebrew and decided to stay in Israel permanently. Before returning to activism, Rubin visited Havana to learn about the Cuban Revolution.

Social Activism

After leaving Berkeley, Jerry Rubin began to protest for different causes. He ran for mayor of Berkeley, California, speaking out against the Vietnam War and supporting Black power. He received more than 20 percent of the votes.

Rubin then focused on political protests. His first protest in Berkeley was against a local store that would not hire African Americans. Soon, Rubin was leading his own protests. He helped create the Vietnam Day Committee. This group led some of the first large protests against the Vietnam War. He helped plan the world's biggest teach-in against the war. He also organized protests to try and stop trains carrying troops and trucks carrying napalm (a type of flammable gel used in bombs). The Vietnam Day Committee was important because it was one of the first groups to get many local people involved in the anti-war movement.

The Yippies and Media Theater

Rubin was one of the people who started the Youth International Party (YIP), also known as the Yippies. He started it with Abbie Hoffman and Paul Krassner. The Yippies were not a formal group. They used the media's interest in new and different things to get attention. They believed that if protests were more entertaining, TV news would cover them more.

Rubin's appearances before the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) showed how the Yippies used protests as a form of theater. Rubin was called to speak to the committee. Instead of staying quiet, he showed up in an 18th-century American Revolutionary War uniform. He told the committee, "Nothing is more American than revolution." He also blew soap bubbles while being questioned. Another time, he appeared without a shirt, wearing pajamas and war paint, carrying a toy rifle. He even dressed as Santa Claus for another appearance. These actions were meant to make the committee look silly and get media attention.

As authors Martin A. Lee and Bruce Shlain wrote, "It was a political ploy designed to make a mockery of the HUAC proceedings; the congressmen were caught off guard, and Rubin's stunt became page-one news throughout the country."

Another famous Yippie stunt happened at the New York Stock Exchange. Rubin, Hoffman, and others threw money into the air. Stockbrokers scrambled to pick up the bills, stopping trading for a short time. This stunt got a lot of attention worldwide.

During the 1968 Democratic National Convention, the Yippies nominated a pig named Pigasus the Immortal for president. Pigasus weighed 145 pounds (66 kg). Rubin held the pig and demanded that it get Secret Service protection and a foreign policy briefing at the White House. He joked that if Pigasus won, he would be eaten, which would be the opposite of how politicians usually "eat the people."

Rubin wrote in his book DO IT!: Scenarios of the Revolution that "media does not report 'news,' it creates it." He also said, "TV time goes to those with the most guts and imagination." He believed that the picture was the most important part of a news story, not the words.

Protests and the Chicago Seven Trial

In October 1967, David Dellinger asked Rubin to help organize a March on the Pentagon. Protesters gathered at the Lincoln Memorial. Then, they marched toward the Pentagon. Soldiers from the 82nd Airborne Division blocked their way. Abbie Hoffman joked that he would "levitate" the Pentagon, and Allen Ginsberg led chants. The protest became tense. About 680 protesters were arrested, and 50 were taken to the hospital.

One person at the march remembered that police used force to clear the steps. Despite this, many protesters felt excited and believed it was a turning point. Rubin said, "It made me see we could build a movement by knocking off American symbols."

Rubin also helped organize protests during the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago. He helped create the Yippie "Festival of Life." He spoke at a rally and told protesters to resist if a riot started. There was a lot of conflict between the Chicago police and the protesters. An official report later called it a "police riot." About 1,500 people were injured.

Rubin and seven others were arrested and put on trial. This became known as the Chicago Seven case. The others were Hoffman, Rennie Davis, John Froines, David Dellinger, Lee Weiner, Tom Hayden, and Bobby Seale. Seale's trial was separated from the others, so the group became known as the Chicago Seven.

The trial itself became a spectacle. Rubin, Hoffman, and other defendants often made fun of the court. Rubin called the trial "the Academy Awards of protest." At one point, he and Hoffman wore judge's robes to court. When the judge told them to take them off, they revealed blue Chicago police shirts underneath.

Rubin and six other defendants were found not guilty of conspiracy. However, Rubin and four others were found guilty of encouraging a riot. The judge also sentenced Rubin to more than three years in prison for disrespecting the court. Later, an appeals court overturned all the convictions for encouraging a riot. The contempt of court sentences were also overturned.

In 1972, Rubin continued his activism at the Republican and Democratic Conventions in Miami Beach. He had a public debate with a local attorney named Ellis Rubin, who was not related to him. The debate ended when Jerry Rubin used a bad word, and Ellis Rubin led his supporters out.

Jerry Rubin was also interviewed on TV by journalist Dorothy Fuldheim. During the interview, Rubin called the police "pigs," which upset Fuldheim. She then threw his book and told him to leave the set.

Life After Activism

In January 1973, after the 1972 presidential election, Rubin held a party at his home. Soon after, he left politics and became a businessman. He invested early in Apple Computer and became very wealthy by the end of the 1970s.

In the 1980s, Rubin became known as a "Yuppie capitalist." Some of his old friends from the 1960s thought he had "sold out." However, Rubin said he wanted to use his business to promote social awareness. He went on a debating tour with Abbie Hoffman called "Yippie versus Yuppie." One political cartoon showed Rubin as half-activist and half-businessman.

Rubin's changing views did not always sit well with Hoffman. But their differences were mostly about ideas, not personal dislike. When Hoffman passed away in 1989, Rubin attended his funeral.

In his book Growing (Up) at Thirty-Seven, Rubin wrote about the importance of personal growth and political action. He said that activists in the 1960s sometimes lost touch with themselves. He believed that self-improvement methods could help people become more centered and act politically from a deeper place. He felt that real change happens when people transform their own lives and relationships.

Other Appearances

Jerry Rubin appeared in the 2002 British documentary The Century of the Self. He was shown in a part of the film that talked about the Erhard Seminars Training, also known as The est Training. Rubin had taken this training and wrote about it in his book Growing (Up) at Thirty-Seven. He explained that est was like a "psychological theater" that helped people look at themselves.

Rubin also appeared on Saturday Night Live during its first season. He was introduced as "Jerry Rubin, Leader of the Yippie Movement." He was in a funny commercial for wallpaper that featured famous protest slogans from the 1960s and 1970s.

Author

Rubin wrote about his anti-establishment ideas in his 1970 book, DO IT!: Scenarios of the Revolution. It had an introduction by Black Panther leader Eldridge Cleaver. In 1971, his journal from Cook County Jail was published as We are Everywhere. This book shared his experiences during the Chicago Seven trial and discussed groups like the Weather Underground and the Black Panthers.

In 1976, Rubin wrote Growing (Up) at Thirty-Seven. This book included a chapter about his experience with the Erhard Seminars Training (EST). In the book, Rubin argued that society cannot be truly changed by people who are not in touch with themselves. He believed that real political change needs people to transform their own lives and relationships. He felt it was important for people to live the kind of society they wanted to create.

Rubin tried many self-improvement methods to work on himself. These included est training, hypnotism, meditation, yoga, rolfing, acupuncture, and Gestalt therapy. A reviewer of his book, Derek VanPelt, noted that Rubin's search for self-improvement was "sincere."

In 1980, Rubin and his wife, Mimi Leonard, wrote a self-help book called The War Between the Sheets: What's Happening with Men in Bed and What Men and Women Are Doing About It. This book was not very popular.

Business Career

In the mid-1970s, Jerry Rubin changed his career and became a businessman. His friend Stew Albert said that Rubin's new goal was to give business people a social conscience. In 1980, he started working on Wall Street as a stockbroker. He said, "I know that I can be more effective today wearing a suit and tie and working on Wall Street than I can be dancing outside the walls of power."

In the 1980s, he became known for promoting business networking. He created a company called Business Networking Salons, Inc. This company organized parties at famous nightclubs like Studio 54 in Manhattan. Thousands of young professionals and business owners met there to share ideas.

Near the end of his life, Rubin became interested in life extension science. He was involved in selling health foods and nutritional supplements through multi-level marketing. In 1991, he moved to Los Angeles with his family. There, he became a successful independent seller for a company that sold a nutritional drink called Wow! It was made with ingredients like kelp, ginseng, and bee pollen. Interestingly, Bobby Seale, another member of the Chicago Seven, became one of his salespeople.

Death

On November 14, 1994, Jerry Rubin was hit by a car while crossing Wilshire Boulevard in Westwood, Los Angeles. It was a busy Monday evening. One car swerved to avoid him, but a second car, right behind the first, hit him. He was taken to the UCLA Medical Center. Two weeks later, he passed away from a heart attack. He is buried in the Hillside Memorial Park Cemetery in Culver City, California.

State Senator Tom Hayden, who was also a member of the Chicago Seven, said after Rubin's death, "He was a great life force, full of spunk, courage and wit. I think his willingness to defy authority for constructive purposes will be missed. Up to the end, he was defying authority."

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