Gertrude Weil

Jewish Progressive in the New South

Nonfiction, Social & Cultural Studies, Social Science, Gender Studies, Women&, Biography & Memoir
Cover of the book Gertrude Weil by Leonard Rogoff, The University of North Carolina Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Leonard Rogoff ISBN: 9781469630809
Publisher: The University of North Carolina Press Publication: February 22, 2017
Imprint: The University of North Carolina Press Language: English
Author: Leonard Rogoff
ISBN: 9781469630809
Publisher: The University of North Carolina Press
Publication: February 22, 2017
Imprint: The University of North Carolina Press
Language: English

It is so obvious that to treat people equally is the right thing to do," wrote Gertrude Weil (1879–1971). In the first-ever biography of Weil, Leonard Rogoff tells the story of a modest southern Jewish woman who, while famously private, fought publicly and passionately for the progressive causes of her age. Born to a prominent family in Goldsboro, North Carolina, Weil never married and there remained ensconced--in many ways a proper southern lady--for nearly a century. From her hometown, she fought for women's suffrage, founded her state's League of Women Voters, pushed for labor reform and social welfare, and advocated for world peace.

Weil made national headlines during an election in 1922 when, casting her vote, she spotted and ripped up a stack of illegally marked ballots. She campaigned against lynching, convened a biracial council in her home, and in her eighties desegregated a swimming pool by diving in headfirst. Rogoff also highlights Weil's place in the broader Jewish American experience. Whether attempting to promote the causes of southern Jewry, save her European family members from the Holocaust, or support the creation of a Jewish state, Weil fought for systemic change, all the while insisting that she had not done much beyond the ordinary duty of any citizen.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

It is so obvious that to treat people equally is the right thing to do," wrote Gertrude Weil (1879–1971). In the first-ever biography of Weil, Leonard Rogoff tells the story of a modest southern Jewish woman who, while famously private, fought publicly and passionately for the progressive causes of her age. Born to a prominent family in Goldsboro, North Carolina, Weil never married and there remained ensconced--in many ways a proper southern lady--for nearly a century. From her hometown, she fought for women's suffrage, founded her state's League of Women Voters, pushed for labor reform and social welfare, and advocated for world peace.

Weil made national headlines during an election in 1922 when, casting her vote, she spotted and ripped up a stack of illegally marked ballots. She campaigned against lynching, convened a biracial council in her home, and in her eighties desegregated a swimming pool by diving in headfirst. Rogoff also highlights Weil's place in the broader Jewish American experience. Whether attempting to promote the causes of southern Jewry, save her European family members from the Holocaust, or support the creation of a Jewish state, Weil fought for systemic change, all the while insisting that she had not done much beyond the ordinary duty of any citizen.

More books from The University of North Carolina Press

Cover of the book Buncombe Bob by Leonard Rogoff
Cover of the book Lee’s Army Has Not Lost Any of Its Prestige by Leonard Rogoff
Cover of the book U.S. Intervention in British Guiana by Leonard Rogoff
Cover of the book Drugs and Democracy in Rio de Janeiro by Leonard Rogoff
Cover of the book The Invention of Party Politics by Leonard Rogoff
Cover of the book A Two-Colored Brocade by Leonard Rogoff
Cover of the book Innocent Experiments by Leonard Rogoff
Cover of the book The Political Languages of Emancipation in the British Caribbean and the U.S. South by Leonard Rogoff
Cover of the book Rape and Race in the Nineteenth-Century South by Leonard Rogoff
Cover of the book Blue Texas by Leonard Rogoff
Cover of the book Jasmine and Stars by Leonard Rogoff
Cover of the book The Veiled Garvey by Leonard Rogoff
Cover of the book The Artistry of Anger by Leonard Rogoff
Cover of the book How to Read a North Carolina Beach by Leonard Rogoff
Cover of the book America's Secret War against Bolshevism by Leonard Rogoff
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy