Stew Albert -- Yippie troublemaker, inspirator -- dies at 66
After the more famous Abbie Hoffman and Jerry Rubin came Stew Albert, one of the true originals of the '60s. He was a key organizer against the Vietnam War with the important National Mobilization Committee action against the Pentagon in 1967.
Said his friend Robert Greenwald, who got to know Albert well while making a film about Abbie Hoffman: "Hero is an overused word, and yet with the death of Stew Albert it is the only word that comes to mind... he helped spearhead one of the most famous anti-war protests, where thousands surrounded the Pentagon and chanted in an effort to levitate the building." He was one of the leading figures of the Yippies!; a life long activist -- most recently with his own blog -- Stew worked for justice with rare passion.
Like all the Yippies, Albert had his "moments," like visiting with Eldridge Cleaver in Algeria in 1969, and later introducing Cleaver to fugitive Timothy Leary (while in Algeria). In 1970, he ran for sheriff of Alameda County, Calif. and received 65,000 votes (carrying the city of Berkeley).
Albert co-authored "The Sixties Papers" anthology with wife Judy Gumbo and authored a memoir, "Who the Hell is Stew Albert?" (Red Hen Press 2004), and maintained his blog until the day before his death. As he lay on his final sick bed, his words were, "my politics have not changed."
