Lee Weiner

Lee Weiner

Lee Weiner was a member of the Chicago Seven charged with conspiring to incite a riot at the 1968 Democratic National Convention. Weiner and his co-defendant John Froines were acquitted of the charges by the jury. Weiner left Chicago after accepting an offer to teach in the sociology department of Rutgers University. He is now a professor of sociology at the University of New York at St. John’s University.

About Lee Weiner in brief

Summary Lee WeinerLee Weiner was a member of the Chicago Seven charged with conspiring to incite a riot at the 1968 Democratic National Convention. Weiner and his co-defendant John Froines were acquitted of the charges by the jury. Weiner left Chicago after accepting an offer to teach in the sociology department of Rutgers University. Weiner was overheard in 1972 joking that he was a new Communist party in New Jersey. He was acquitted of all contempt charges at a retrial and moved to Brooklyn, NY with his girlfriend at the time, Sharon Avery. He is now a professor of sociology at the University of New York at St. John’s University. He has written a book about his experiences, The Chicago 7: The Political Trial of a People’s Insurrection, published by Simon & Schuster, with a foreword by Groucho Marx.

He currently lives in New York City with his wife and two children, and works as a caseworker in Chicago’s South Side. He also has a blog about his experience as a community activist and social worker, called The Chicago Seven: The Social Work of Lee Weiner, and a blog at www.thechicagosocialworker.com. For confidential support call the Samaritans on 08457 90 90 90, visit a local Samaritans branch or see www.samaritans.org. For support in the U.S. call the National Suicide Prevention Line on 1-800-273-8255 or visit http://www.suicideprevention.org/.