Who is Jerry Rubin?

Jerry C. Rubin was perhaps the most outlandish figure to ever defended American civil liberties. A revolutionary and anti-war activist, his voice and zany stunts were heard and seen throughout the world. Rubin was a master of media sensationalism, exposing American injustice through outrageous spectacles and whimsical press conferences. His outrageousness and free style made him a household name, and soon every politician's worst nightmare.

Jerry Rubin was born July 14th, 1938 in Cincinnati, Ohio. His father, Bob Rubin, was a high school drop-out from New York who became a Cincinnati bread deliverer and union representative. His mother, Esther, was a college graduate who worked as a nurse's aide, but threw off her career to become a full-time housewife. He had a younger brother named Gil.

Soon tragedy struck. Rubin's mother died of cancer, and several months later his father would die of a heart attack. With his father's death, Rubin took responsibility for his 13 year-old brother, Gil. Assuming the parental role, he planned to teach Gil about the world. Thus, Rubin attempted to take Gil on a trip to India. Relatives, fearing that the Indian terrain was unsafe for a young boy, protested against Rubin's plans; they threatened to rescind his custody of Gil. Rubin then decided to palliate his Jewish relatives' fears by taking Gil to Tel Aviv. Rubin enrolled at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem as a student of sociology. There he learned about the problems of Israeli and Palestinian relations. His brother learned Hebrew and moved into a kibbutz.

In 1964, Rubin moved to Berkley. He enrolled as a graduate student at UC Berkley, but soon dropped out for the sake of social activism. Rubin's first protest happened in 1964, when he walked in a picket line against a Berkley grocer who had refused to hire blacks. Thereafter, he was involved in political activism, soon leading and organizing his own demonstrations. During this same year, he made a defiant trip to Cuba, breaking the state department's ban against American travel to the communist country. In Cuba, Rubin had the opportunity to interview Che Guevara. Rubin wanted to stay in Cuba, but Che told him to take the revolution to America.

In 1965, Rubin organized some of the first Vietnam peace demonstrations, rallying thousands of young people to express their opinions about Vietnam at UC Berkely; he also rallied students to stop the troop-train that ran behind Berkley's campus. His organization, known as the Vietnam Day Committee (VDC), soon took on roles far beyond ending the war in Vietnam. The VDC became a center for the concerns of American youth, providing information on a wide range of subjects---from cooking to disease prevention. In many ways it represented Rubin's utopian vision of a socialist reality.

Rubin's leadership of the VDC lead to his first federal subpoena. At this period in time, officials questioned Vietnam protests as a form of treason. Rubin and others were sent to the House of Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC), an independent court of the justice department that had been set up to review communist, socialist, and anarchist activities. Against the suggestions of his peers, Rubin decided to take on HUAC, turning it into his own theater. Dressed up as an American Revolutionary War soldier, Rubin prepared an outrageous entrance, passing out copies of "The Declaration of Independence" to the audience. But before he entered the building, a guard stopped him and attempted to take away his paperwork. With his lawyers screaming that the police would not allow their client into the building, the judges finally conceded to Rubin's entrance. Rubin's lawyers turned HUAC into a kangaroo court, attacking the judges and exposing the history of American fascism. In the middle of the testimonies, Judge Joe Poole threw the case out of the court. Rubin screamed for his chance to testify, and the court fined him for disorderly conduct.

After the HUAC proceedings, Rubin developed even more temerity. On August 24th 1967, Jerry Rubin, Stew Albert, Abbie Hoffman, and a handful of the San Francisco Diggers (a guerrilla theater group) entered the New York Stock Exchange to make a statement against Vietnam. After arranging publicity, they attempted to get onto the visitors viewing balcony. A guard, fearing a communist hippie demonstration, stopped them and explained that the balcony had been closed to the public for repairs. Abbie Hoffman and Jerry Rubin quickly retorted, exclaiming that they were being denied access because they were Jews. With reporters capturing every word, the guard eventually allowed them onto the balcony. There Rubin gave a short speech against the corporate financing of Vietnam and the greed of the American people. After receiving an enthusiastic applause from the stock brokers, the Yippies threw money onto the floor. Stock brokers and traders abandoned their duties to scramble for the falling banknotes. The demonstrators were soon ejected from the building.

On October 21st 1967, Rubin arranged a Vietnam demonstration to take on the Pentagon. What was labeled as a march turned out to be a siege of the Pentagon. Hippies tore down the fences and some actually managed to get inside the building. The rest set up camp outside the building, singing songs and attempting to coerce the armed guards to give up their military duties. Rubin and others attempted "psychic terrorism" and "an exorcism of the Pentagon", claiming that they could levitate the Pentagon with the powers of their minds. He was arrested for his conduct and received 30-days in jail.

On the New Year of 1968, Jerry Rubin and Abbie Hoffman co-founded the Youth International Party. They called themselves Yippies. Their political motives were anti-establishment. When asked about their political agendas, they passed out blank sheets of paper. But the main tenet of their formation was to mobilize a freak-out at the 1968 Chicago Democratic Convention. They did not know that this freak-out, The Festival of Life, would become one of the most dramatic events of American history, let alone the most investigated case since the assassination of president Kennedy.

The Festival of Life began on August 23, 1968. On the first day, Jerry Rubin and others announced their political candidate in the Chicago Civic Center. As a lavish Yippie stunt, they brought out a pig that they had named: Pigasus the Immortal. As soon as they brought out the pig, the police arrested the demonstrators for disorderly conduct. On the same day, Yippies held classes in Lincoln Park (the concert site) to teach karate, snake dancing, and martial arts.

On August 25, 1968, the Chicago Democratic Convention clashed against the Yippies' Festival of Life. Chicago's Mayor Richard Daley had ordered an 11 p.m. curfew to keep activists from sleeping in Lincoln Park. The previous night, police clubbed people who did not adhere to the curfew. At 9 p.m. the police confronted and attacked a group of demonstrators. According to police testimony, Jerry Rubin then encouraged demonstrators to attack the cops.

The next day (August 26th), Jerry Rubin and Abbie Hoffman urged their attendants to stay at Lincoln Park. A crowd of about 3,000 people gathered that night. While singing, talking, and chanting Indian wisdom, the police attacked the concert. Non-violent activists became violent, smashing windows and destroying street lamps.

The next two days became even more riotous. The police attacked demonstrators and reporters with tear gas and clubs. Attempting to lead hundreds of people to safety, Allen Ginsberg started an aum chant and marched demonstrators away from the cops. At the end of everything, almost all of the events founders had been arrested. The government would soon indict eight members for conspiracy against the government and rioting.

On September 4th, 1969, eight collaborators of the Festival of Life stood trial before Judge Julius Hoffman in the case "United States of America vs. David T. Dellinger, et al." The defendants were Dave Dellinger (National Mobilization Committee to End the War in Vietnam), Rennard C. Davis (Students for a Democratic Society), Thomas E. Hayden (Students for a Democratic Society), Lee Weiner (a sociology teaching assistant from Northwestern), John Froines (a chemist and member of the SDS), Bobby Seale (Black Panther Party), Abbie Hoffman (Yippie), and Jerry Rubin (Yippie). Not too far into the trial, Judge Hoffman removed Bobby Seale from the courtroom, sentencing him to four years for contempt of court. The media then labeled the case, "The Chicago Seven Trials".

The removal of Bobby Seale provided the impetus for social outrage. In the course of the proceedings, the courthouse was then transformed into a media carnival. Judge Hoffman would not listen to key elements of testimony; he cited over 200 contempt charges to witnesses, lawyers, and defendants. Towards the end of the five-month trial, the defendants, overwhelmed by the judge's intent to silence their testimonies, rebelled against the courtroom. Jerry Rubin marched in front of the judge's podium, giving Hitler salutes and screaming, "Fascist" and "Tyrant". Even the audience joined the cavalcade of epithets. Of these moments, Rubin later reflected, "Our strategy was to give Judge Hoffman a heart attack. We gave the court system a heart attack, which is even better."

Jerry Rubin received five years at his sentencing. Rubin took it with good spirit. Explaining that the court's verdict was the happiest day of his life, Rubin told Judge Hoffman, "...you have done more to destroy the court system in this country than any of us could have done." Rubin presented Judge Hoffman with an autographed and inscribed copy of his first book, "Do It! Scenarios of the Revolution."

William Kunstler, the defense lawyer, appealed the case to the Supreme Court. Upon investigation, the Supreme Court found that Judge Julius Hoffman had used unscrupulous tactics in handling the case. The Supreme Court reversed the decision of the lower court. The Supreme Court also reversed all contempt charges in the case and made a law limiting the power of contempt.

After Vietnam years, Rubin moved out of political activism and became a successful entrepreneur. Rubin invested in the health food industry and attempted to capitalize on the stock market. He became involved with the new age human consciousness movement of the 70's that included Rolfing, primal scream therapy, est, Reichian therapies, gestalt, and bioenergetics. Former Yippies and hippies called him a sell-out and living proof that Yippie had gone Yuppie. A new faction of Yippies, the Zippies, formed to separate themselves from the aging Jerry Rubin. For Rubin's 34th birthday, the Zippies attempted to storm into his hotel room and throw a cake in his face.

During these post-Vietnam years, Rubin worked closely with John Lennon and Yoko Ono. Lennon asked Rubin to play drums for "Imagine"; he shyed away from the opportunity. Later, Rubin played the tambourine when John and Yoko performed at the Apollo Theater. He also helped back-up Chuck Berry in a performance when John and Yoko hosted the "Mike Douglass Show." On December 10, 1971, Rubin helped John and Yoko with a performance to pressure the release of John Sinclair, chairman of the White Panthers, who had been sentenced to 10 years for the possession of two joints. Two days after the event, Sinclair was released from prison.

During the 70's Rubin reflected about his past deeds and thoughts. In essays he would admit his wrongs, explaining how sexism, homophobia, racism, and drug abuse shaped his beliefs. Once believing homosexuality was a sick behavior, he now understood it as a valid sexual expression. He also thanked women for the role they played in creating his public image: women were the ones who typed his manuscripts, handled his clerical work, and labored behind the scenes. He abandoned his "Kill You Parents" mantra and encouraged people to accept the "Love Your Parents" wisdom.

In the 80's Rubin slowly removed himself from the media spotlight, complaining, "To live inside a media image is like a prison. Living for your image means sacrificing your true self." He made a few guest appearances with Abbie Hoffman and appeared in the movies "Growing Up in America" (1987), "Rude Awakening" (1989), and "Panther" (released 1995).

Rubin died on November 28, 1994 when he was struck by a car while jay walking in Los Angeles. He was buried at Hillside Memorial Park in Culver City, California.