Gertrude Weil

Gertrude Weil (December 11, 1879 – May 3, 1971) was an American social activist involved in a wide range of progressive/leftist and often controversial causes, including women's suffrage, labor reform and civil rights.

Biography

Early life Weil was born on December 11, 1879, to Henry and Mina Weil (née Rosenthal), German Jews living in the rapidly developing town of Goldsboro, North Carolina. Weil's father, Henry, migrated from Hamburg, Germany in 1860, when he was fourteen years old, following his brother, Herman Weil, who would later fight in the Confederate Army during the American Civil War. Weil was raised in Goldsboro, North Carolina, in a home located at 200 Chestnut Street, which is now on the National Register of Historic Places. Being a wealthy household, the Weil family employed domestic staff, including both white and black employees. In 1883, only 17 years after the formation of North Carolina's first Jewish congregation, Gertrude's parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles helped to form Goldsboro's Congregation Oheb Sholom.

Education

Early education Weil grew up attending public schools within her community of Goldsboro. Weil's parents supplemented her education by having her attend Sabbath School, German School, and Hebrew School.

Horace Mann School (1895–1897) When Weil was 16, during 1895, she was sent to New York City to attend the Horace Mann School. During this time at the Horace Mann School Weil began writing letters home to her family, or as she titled them, her "dear ones" relaying her experiences in New York. During her time at Horace Mann School, Weil was introduced to Margaret Stanton Lawrence, daughter of Elizabeth Cady Stanton. During her time at Smith College Weil was exposed to the work of progressive reformers such as Jane Addams, attended lectures on gender inequalities, and attended lectures on women's role in confronting social justice, these experiences generating the basis for Weil's future work.

Post-graduation After graduation from Smith College, Weil was faced with the decision of whether to find a job in teaching, as some of her classmates did, or to return home. Weil responded to the North Carolina's rejection of the amendment in a letter;As you know, our fight for ratification by the North Carolina legislature is over. We were unsuccessful in our efforts. Our North Carolina men have refused to ratify.” In closing, she called upon the women “to hold together whatever local organization you have. We shall need it to carry out the work that lies before us.”Weil continued working to improve the political system. In 1920, she established the North Carolina League of Women Voters, dedicated to educating women about the political system and their newly won rights. She also became a leader in the Legislative Council of North Carolina, organized to advance progressive social reforms. In 1922, she made headlines when she destroyed stacks of previously marked ballots intended to be stuffed into ballot boxes to fix an election. Weil also played an active role in the newly formed Legislative Council of North Carolina Women, presenting a legislative program to the North Carolina General Assembly. Her program called for the age of consent to be raised to 16, protection for mother's pensions, censorship for moving pictures, and funding for the Stonewall Jackson Manual Training and Industrial School, and Samarcand Manor State Home and Industrial School. This event, in 1922, sparked the editor of the Raleigh Times to mention Weil's name as a possible candidate for the United States Congress. Weil, in a letter to the Raleigh Times editor, July 29, 1922, denied that as a possibility, stating:

"It has seemed needless to deny the truth of the groundless rumor concerning my running for Congress from the Third District on the Republican ticket. However, since the rumor persists in recurring in the columns of the press, perhaps it is well that I state definitely that I am not considering—nor have I ever considered—running for Congress on the Republican, Democratic, Farm-Labor, Socialist, Independent, or any other ticket."

Throughout the 1920s Weil continued her work in encouraging women to vote, visiting communities, giving speeches, and financially supporting the clubs she was involved in.

Social work Leading into the Great Depression Weil was president of the Goldsboro Bureau of Social Service and chair of the Decisions Committee.

Weil also spent a great deal of time fighting for labor reform in North Carolina. In 1930, Weil was a leading participant in a group of progressive citizens who issued a manifesto in support of collective bargaining and free speech; nearly one-third of the manifesto's 439 signatories were women. In 1931, the women's Legislative Council finally won shorter hours for women workers, the prohibition of night work, and other industrial reforms.

Civil rights Weil grew up in the post-reconstruction era South. Weil's hometown of Goldsboro, North Carolina, had been the location of a Civil War battle due to its proximity to a railroad junction. The Battle of Goldsboro Bridge occurred on December 17, 1862, and concluded with a Union victory and an estimated 220 casualties.

Weil first immersed herself in civil rights work in 1930.

Weil's dedication to social justice and equality led her to, in 1930 travel to Atlanta to attend the Anti-Lynching Conference for Southern White Women. This conference sparked the creation of the Association of Southern Women for the Prevention of Lynching, which Weil also joined.

Religion The Jewish religion and traditions Weil learned in her childhood influenced her social activism in her later life. Weil was involved in teaching Sunday School, conducting adult Bible studies, and working with the Temple Sisterhood. Weil would serve three terms as president of the Association, beginning in 1924, and serve as board member for the rest of her life. Weil's work with the North Carolina Association of Jewish Women took her to small towns across North Carolina, forming relationships with women across the state.

Weil also sat on the board of the North Carolina Home for the Jewish Aged, worked for the National Federation of Temple Sisterhoods, and helped to raise money for numerous Jewish charities. In the 1930s and 1940s, she and her mother devoted much time and effort to rescuing Jewish refugees from persecution in Europe.

In the late 1960s, Weil wrote an essay in which she criticized those who believed religious individuals should confine themselves to ""matters" of religion, that is theology, church creed, church attendance, the prospect of heaven or hell" and she continued with her own belief that, "In my definition, religion includes the whole of life: one's beliefs, one's attitudes to society, one's behavior ." Within the same essay, Weil demonstrated her opinion that Judaism called for morality in all areas of an individual's life, stating, "My religion demands the same honesty, fairness, reliability, in all one's relations."

Legacy In 1964 Weil received a medal from Smith College, the medal was reserved for distinguished alumni and Weil was chosen for her work in public service.

The public library in Goldsboro contains the "Gertrude Weil Auditorium," named after Weil.

According to the Jewish Women's Archive, Weil was: "Inspired by Jewish teachings that 'justice, mercy, [and] goodness were not to be held in a vacuum, but practiced in our daily lives,' Weil stood courageously at the forefront of a wide range of progressive and often controversial causes, including women's suffrage, labor reform and civil rights. She worked tirelessly to extend political, economic and social opportunities to those long denied them."

Comparisons Weil was compared to Ruby Diamond from Tallahassee, Florida. Both were progressive women from the upper-class from the late 19th century.

Death Gertrude Weil died on May 30, 1971, in her hometown of Goldsboro, North Carolina at the age of 91. Her burial place is located at the Willow Dale Cemetery in Goldsboro in the Jewish section.