Yippie Girl: Author Reading

In 1968, a 24-year-old woman moved to Berkeley, California and immediately became enmeshed in the Youth International Party, aka The Yippies, a recently-formed satirical protest group. In the next few years, Judy Gumbo (a nickname given her by Eldridge Cleaver), was soon at the center of counter-cultural activity—from protests in People’s Park, to meetings at Black Panther headquarters, to running a pig for President at the raucous Democratic National Convention in Chicago, a protest that devolved into violent attacks by the police and arrests that led to the notorious Chicago Conspiracy Trial.

In this insider feminist memoir, Gumbo reveals intimate details of her fellow radicals Jerry Rubin, Nancy Kurshan, Anita & Abbie Hoffman, Eldridge & Kathleen Cleaver, Paul Krassner, Stew Albert, and more, detailing their experiences in radical anti-war protests and her own skirmishes with, and victory over, illegal FBI surveillance.

Yippie Girl explores Gumbo’s life as a protester to show that, while circumstances always change, protesters can stay loyal to the causes they believe in and remain true to themselves. She also reveals how dogmatism, authoritarianism, and interpersonal conflict can damage those same just causes, offering a timeless and strategic guide for activists today protesting against injustice in all its forms.

Praise for Yippie Girl: Exploits in Protest & Defeating the FBI

“We have to get our history right. So young folks can see where we were coming from… And Yippie Girl tells it like it is.”
 Bobby Seale, Founding chairman and national organizer of the Black Panther Party

“Love the writing: VERY live, immediate – this does not feel like ancient history, it’s living and breathing in our lives right now. It’s part of our power, people power.” � Kris Welch, Host, The Talkies, KPFA-FM

“Gumbo delivers a sharp-edged memoir of years of protest and resistance . . . A welcome addition to the literature of radical activism in the age of Johnson, Nixon, and beyond.”  Kirkus Reviews

“The subject JUDY GUMBO is considered to be the most vicious, the most anti-American, the most anti-establishment, and the most dangerous to the internal security of the United States.”  FBI

“Judy Gumbo was and is quite a dame. Her new book is splendid.”
� Susan Brownmiller, feminist, activist, author, Against Our Will, Men, Women and Rape

“With the world fractured by orchestrated divisiveness, Yippie Girl is a healing balm.”
�� Meegan Lee Ochs, daughter of Phil Ochs; Artist Relations Manager, ACLU of Southern California