At the 1968 Democratic National Convention, Lee Weiner, an author and former member of the Chicago Seven, was charged with “conspiring to use interstate commerce with the intent to incite a riot” and “teaching demonstrators how to construct incendiary devices that would be used in civil disturbances.” The jury found Weiner and his co-defendant John Froines not guilty of the counts. Weiner is the only member of the Chicago Seven who is a native of the city, having grown up on the city’s South Side.
Biography of Lee Weiner
Weiner was a doctoral candidate and teaching assistant at Northwestern University when the trial of the Chicago Seven began in September 1969. He had previously graduated from the University of Illinois, studied political philosophy at Hebrew University of Jerusalem[6], and earned a master’s degree in social work from Loyola University’s School of Social Work in Chicago. Weiner worked as a research assistant for Howard S. Becker at Northwestern University.
“Every day… the work I did pound harsh truths into my head about what was wrong in America,” Weiner wrote in his memoir after witnessing deplorable poverty in Black areas as a caseworker.
Weiner was a marshal with the National Mobilization Committee to End the War in Vietnam during the 1968 Chicago demonstrations. Weiner told TIME magazine’s Olivia Waxman in 2018 that “On August 28, amid the massive struggle with the National Guard on Michigan Avenue, I withdrew myself from the crowd to stand on the stairs of the Art Institute and observe the crowd. It was the only time in my life that I considered a revolution in the United States.”
Works
Conspiracy to Riot: The Life and Times of One of the Chicago 7
Weiner’s memoir, Conspiracy to Riot: The Life and Times of One of the Chicago 7, describes how “the actions that landed him in front of a jury and a vindictive government were part of a long tradition of American radicalism that had shaped him from an early age and remain directly relevant to today’s efforts to change America for the better.”
“When reading Weiner’s description of the demonstrations, which largely took place on Michigan Ave. and in Grant Park,” writes Malik Jackson for South Side Weekly, “one is struck by the similarities between this imagery and the events we’ve observed on our own streets in recent years.”
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Police charging crowds and stomping demonstrators is a typical occurrence, with officers randomly selecting persons to beat with clubs. Other times, undercover cops blended into the throng to overhear marshals’ strategic discussions and then stalked them, which is how Weiner was apprehended and indicted.”
The memoir is described by Kirkus Reviews as “A welcome addition to the countercultural left’s literature,” writes one reviewer, “Weiner finishes with a passionate paean to activism.” ‘While a political life isn’t easy, and while frustration, anger, disappointment, fear, and bewilderment are all part of it at times, I believe there is no more self-respecting, satisfying life to strive to live,’ he writes.”
Belt Publishing released the book in August 2020, and Belt Magazine published an extract on July 23, 2020.
Net worth of Lee Weiner
Lee David Weiner’s net worth is predicted to be at least $19.8 million USD as of May 15, 2021. Mr. Weiner holds over 7,550 units of Rapid7 Inc stock worth over $12,567,526 and has sold RPD shares worth over $6,672,121 in the previous five years. In addition, as Chief Innovation Officer at Rapid7 Inc., he earns $518,347.
Quick facts about Lee Weiner
At the 1968 Democratic National Convention, Lee Weiner, an author and former member of the Chicago Seven, was charged with “conspiring to use interstate commerce with the intent to incite a riot” and “teaching demonstrators how to construct incendiary devices that would be used in civil disturbances.”
Abbie Hoffman, Tom Hayden, Jerry Rubin, and David Dillinger have all died in the five decades since those tumultuous days at the Democratic Convention, but Bobby Seale, Rennie Davis, John Froines, and Lee Weiner are still alive.
Lee Weiner was born on September 7, 1939. He is currently 82 years old.
Lee David Weiner’s net worth is predicted to be at least $19.8 million USD as of May 15, 2021. Mr. Weiner holds over 7,550 units of Rapid7 Inc stock worth over $12,567,526 and has sold RPD shares worth over $6,672,121 in the previous five years. In addition, as Chief Innovation Officer at Rapid7 Inc., he earns $518,347.
Full Name | Lee Weiner |
Date of Birth | September 7, 1939 |
Birth Place | United States |
Birth Country | United States of America |
Nationality | American |
Zodiac Sign | Virgo |
Famous As | Activist |
Occupation | Activist |
Height | 5 ft 6 in (168 cm) |
Weight | N/A |
Hair color | N/A |
Eye color | N/A |