Gail Weintraub Stern: Founding Donor, Activist
Introduction to Gail Stern. 3:42 min. Interview: Raymond Elman. Editing & Production: Sabrina Rubinstein. Music: Daniel Estrada. Recorded via Zoom 10/28/2020
GAIL WEINTRAUB STERN, founding donor and Vietnam War activist, is a retired cardiovascular nurse who has been spent her life involved in nonviolent social change causes and philanthropic endeavors. She grew up in Northern Kentucky until high school when her family moved to Cincinnati, graduated from Connecticut College and attended Boston University School of Law and College of Marin School of Nursing. She has lived in the San Francisco Bay Area for over forty years. She became involved with The Boys Who Said NO! through her longtime friendship with Producer Christopher Jones and her draft resistance work in Cincinnati. She continues to support citizen actions both physically and financially.
The videos below were recorded via Zoom, are organized by Success Factor, and run between 31 seconds and 4:58 minutes. Click on any video. You must be connected to the Internet to view the videos.
SERENDIPITY: 0:31 sec.
What was your first awareness of film? Do you remember the first movie you went to and your reaction?
DEVELOP A VOICE: 4:58 min.
What was your first awareness of politics?
INSIGHT & INSPIRATION: 2:23 min.
Talk about your K-12 education in Northern Kentucky and later in Cincinnati.
EXPOSURE TO BROAD INFLUENCES: 1:57 min.
I remember when university student bodies started to turn against the Vietnam War. I suspect you were at the forefront of the pivot.
INSIGHT & INSPIRATION: 1:18 min.
Howard Zinn’s book, “A People’s History of the United States,” was an eye-opener for a lot of people.
DEVELOP A VOICE: 3:07 min.
What caused you to picket and hand out pamphlets in front of an army induction center in Cincinnati?
SELF-CONFIDENCE: 0:56 sec.
Cincinnati is a very conservative city. It was extraordinarily brave of you to picket an army induction center alone. Were you harassed?
INSIGHT & INSPIRATION: 1:45 min.
I believe that the draft was a major factor in drawing young protesters into the streets to cause civil unrest, and to contribute to moral decay in the military if the draftees were forced to serve in Vietnam.
RESILIENCE: 4:38 min.
Talk about your odyssey after college.
OVERCOMES CHALLENGES TO SUCCEED: 0:55 sec.
At the same time you were living in Canada, I was having my subsistance farming fantasies after reading books like “Living the Good Life” by Scott Nearing.
SEIZES OPPORTUNITIES: 2:33 min.
What did you do after your husband was killed?
COLLABORATION: 0:49 sec.
What was your role on The Boys Who Said NO!?
PERSEVERANCE FURTHERS: 1:25 min.
What is the future for The Boys Who Said NO!?
INSIGHT & INSPIRATION: 1:04 min.
Tell us about Christopher Jones.
UNDERSTANDS THE AUDIENCE’S PERSPECTIVE: 1:06 min.
What are your hopes for the impact of The Boys Who Said NO!?
