The Brave Heart and Generous Spirit of Gertrude Weil

Gertrude Weil (1879–1971) was born into a family of wealthy German-Jewish merchants in Goldsboro, Wayne County. Weil’s family instilled in her a strong sense of responsibility to her community. She attended Goldsboro’s public schools until she was sixteen. She finished high school at a branch of Columbia Teachers College in New York City and then attended Smith College, a school for women in Northampton, Massachusetts.

Weil returned to Goldsboro after graduating from Smith in 1901. She followed her mother into public life by serving on local boards and commissions. Because she worked hard, got on well with people, and knew how to get things done, she usually ended up as chairman. Weil also became involved in local politics as a volunteer, even though she could not vote or hold political office. At that time, North Carolina laws excluded “idiots and lunatics, illiterates, convicts, and women” from voting in elections. Weil’s determination, intelligence, and ability to organize soon led her to challenge the laws that denied women this basic right.

In 1914 Weil became the president of the Goldsboro chapter of the Equal Suffrage League of North Carolina. (Suffrage is the right to vote.) Five years later, she became president of the state league. She gave speeches, wrote letters, directed suffragist activities across the state, and started a lobbying campaign to convince North Carolina legislators to support woman suffrage.

North Carolina suffragists, ca. 1920, led by Gertrude Weil (far left).

In 1920 the Nineteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution gave women the right to vote. Weil and the Suffrage League lobbied the North Carolina General Assembly to ratify the amendment. Thirty-five states had already voted to ratify it, and the “yes” vote of only one more state was needed to make it law. Weil wanted North Carolina to share in the honor of supporting woman suffrage. But in August 1920, the General Assembly voted against ratification. Tennessee cast the deciding vote a few days later, and the Nineteenth Amendment became law.

Weil was active in many other areas. By the 1930s, she was known internationally for her political and humanitarian projects. In her community and state, she pushed for better working conditions for women and for basic services such as food, housing, and medical care to the poor. She also opposed racism and supported the integration of schools and public facilities. During World War II, Weil and her mother spent much time and money supporting the rescue of Jews in Germany and Nazi-occupied France.

Weil was still writing letters to her congressmen when she was nearly eighty years old. She remained devoted to the people, ideas, and causes she believed in. Her “brave heart, generous spirit, and high responsibility” helped her fight for the rights of the disadvantaged throughout her long life.