Judy Gumbo
Judy Gumbo | |
|---|---|
| Born |
June 25, 1943 |
| Died |
September 14, 2026 (aged 83) |
| Other names |
|
| Occupation | political activist, academic, author |
| Known for | A founding Yippie |
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Judy Gumbo was an American political activist, professor of Sociology and author.[1]
Gumbo was born and raised in Toronto, Canada, and earned a Bachelors degree at the University of Toronto.[1]
In the late 1960 Gumbo was one of the founders of the "Youth International Party", more commonly known as the "Yippies".[1] The group was known for "guerilla theatre", staging events that appeared bizarre, to attract media attention.
She adopted the surname Gumbo when she and Stew Albert were on a road trip with their friend, Black Panther, Eldridge Cleaver, and he called her "Mrs Albert".[1] She protested the idea she would adopt the last name of a man, simply because she married him. Subsequently Cleaver called her "Mrs Gumbo", and the nickname stuck.
While more well-known co-founders, like Jerry Rubin and Abbie Hoffman, died relatively young, Gumbo went on to a second career, as a Professor of Sociology, after completing her PhD, at SUNY's Buffalo campus.[1]
Gumbo, and Stew Albert, sued the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), for illegal surveillance, winning a $20,000 payment, in 1976.[1]
Gumbo remained politically active for the rest of her life.[1]
In 2022 Gumbo published a memoir, entitled Yippie Girl.[1]
Gumbo married four times, with her first marriage ending in divorce, and out-living her second and third husbands, Stew Albert and David Dobkin.[1] She pre-deceased her fourth husband, Arthur Eckstein.
References
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Richard Sandomir (2026-09-19). "Judy Gumbo, Who Found Freedom as a Yippie, Dies at 83". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2026-09-20.
Ms. Gumbo was not as well known as Abbie Hoffman and Jerry Rubin, two of the party’s founders, but she was “an integral Yippie,” Nancy Kurshan, a Yippie who was Mr. Rubin’s partner for a while, said in an interview.