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Jerry Rubin

Jerry Clyde Rubin (14 July 1938 – 28 November 1994) was an American social activist, anti-war leader, and leader of the counterculture movement during the 1960s and 1970s.

Biography[]

Jerry Rubin in 1968

Jerry Rubin in 1968

Jerry Clyde Rubin was born in Cincinnati, Ohio in 1938, the son of a Jewish truck driver who became a Teamsters official. Rubin became a sports commentator for The Cincinnati Post while he was in highs chool, but he dropped out of the University of California, Berkeley in 1964 to focus on social activism. He worked on a kibbutz in Israel and learned about the Cuban Revolution in Havana before going on to become a left-wing demonstrator during the Vietnam War. He ran for Mayor of Berkeley as an anti-war, Black Power, and pro-marijuana candidate, receiving over 20% of the vote in an unsuccessful campaign. He became one of the founding members of the Yippies, and he played a major role in the 1968 Democratic National Convention protests in Chicago. In 1972, he organized protests at both the Republican and Democratic conventions in Miami. After George McGovern's defeat in the 1973 presidential election, Rubin left politics and became an entrepreneur and businessman, becoming an early investor in Apple. During the 1980s, he became a successful businessman. In 1994, he died from injuries sustained when he was accidentally struck by an out-of-control car in Westwood, Los Angeles.

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