Who Is Saul Alinsky? Age, Biography and Wiki
Saul Alinsky was born on January 30, 1909, and passed away on June 12, 1972. He was a prominent American community organizer and political theorist renowned for his work in grassroots organizing and advocacy for social justice. His influential book, Rules for Radicals, is considered essential reading for activists and political organizers. In 2025, Alinsky's legacy continues to influence political movements across the country.
- Date of Birth: January 30, 1909
- Date of Death: June 12, 1972
- Age at Death: 63 years
| Occupation | Political Activists |
|---|---|
| Date of Birth | January 30, 1909 |
| Age | 63 Years |
| Birth Place | Chicago, Illinois, U.S. |
| Horoscope | Aquarius |
| Country | U.S |
| Date of death | 12 June, 1972 |
| Died Place | Carmel-by-the-Sea, California, U.S. |
Popularity
Saul Alinsky's Popularity over time
Height, Weight & Measurements
Although precise records of Saul Alinsky’s physical statistics do not exist, he is generally described as an average build. His influence was attributed more to his stirring rhetoric and organizational skills than to physical attributes.
- Height: Unknown
- Weight: Unknown
Family, Dating & Relationship Status
Saul Alinsky was married to Irene Alinsky, with whom he had three children. Their family life was intertwined with Alinsky's deep commitment to social justice and the community. Although he had numerous professional collaborations and influential relationships within political and organizing circles, there is no publicly available information about any significant romantic relationships outside of his marriage.
- Wife: Irene Alinsky
- Children: 3
He was the only surviving son of Benjamin Alinsky and his second wife, Sarah Tannenbaum Alinsky, from what was then Vilna, (now Vilnius ,the capital of Lithuania). His father started out as a tailor, then ran a delicatessen and a cleaning shop.
Net Worth and Salary
While it is difficult to determine an exact net worth for Saul Alinsky, historical records suggest he lived comfortably through his work as a community organizer and writer. His income was primarily derived from speaking engagements, book sales, and his role in creating influential community organizations.
- Estimated Net Worth: Not publicly disclosed during his lifetime
- Salary: Varied based on engagements and contributions, with additional income from his publications.
Successes could also be problematic.
In Chicago, the Back of the Yards Council set itself against housing integration and offered no objection to a pattern of "urban renewal" with which Alinsky professed himself "fed-up": "the moving of low-income and, almost without exception, Negro groups and dumping them into other slums," in order to build houses for middle-income whites.
There being "no substitute for organized power," Alinsky concluded in 1959 that what the city needed was a powerful black community organization that could "bargain collectively" with other organized groups and agencies, private and public.
Career, Business and Investments
Saul Alinsky's career was marked by his pioneering approaches to community organizing. He founded the Industrial Areas Foundation (IAF) in 1940, which established a model for community organizing that emphasized active participation from local residents. His groundbreaking work led to successful organizing efforts across various sectors, including labor rights, housing, and social equity.
Alinsky's most significant publication, Rules for Radicals, was released in 1971 and remains a key resource for activists today. His strategies have been adopted and adapted by numerous social movements around the globe.
Saul David Alinsky (January 30, 1909 – June 12, 1972) was an American community activist and political theorist. His work through the Chicago-based Industrial Areas Foundation helping poor communities organize to press demands upon landlords, politicians, bankers and business leaders won him national recognition and notoriety.
Responding to the impatience of a New Left generation of activists in the 1960s, Alinsky – in his widely cited Rules for Radicals: A Pragmatic Primer (1971) – defended the arts both of confrontation and of compromise involved in community organizing as keys to the struggle for social justice.
Social Network
In the age of social media, Saul Alinsky's principles resonate especially among grassroots organizers. His teachings are shared extensively across platforms like Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram, fostering a new generation of activists inspired by his methodologies. Supporters and followers often quote his work and summarize his approaches to mobilizing communities.
- Influence: Prominent among current activists
- Social Media Presence: Indirect references through quotes and principles rather than personal accounts
With the groundwork prepared by his deputy Edward T. Chambers, Alinsky began mentoring The Woodlawn Organization (TWO), based in the Woodlawn community area on Chicago's South Side. Like other IAF organizations, TWO was a coalition of existing community entities, local block clubs, churches, and businesses.
These groups paid dues, and the organization was run by an elected board. The TWO moved quickly to establish itself as the "voice" of the black neighborhood, mobilizing, developing and bringing up new leadership. An example was Arthur M. Brazier, the first spokesperson and eventual president of the organization.
Starting out as a mail carrier, Brazier became a preacher in a store front church, and then, through TWO, emerged as a national spokesman for the Black Power movement.
Education
Saul Alinsky graduated from the University of Chicago with a degree in sociology in 1930. His education played a crucial role in shaping his understanding of social systems and the dynamics of power, which later informed his community organizing strategies.
- Alma Mater: University of Chicago
- Degree: Bachelor’s in Sociology
In 1926, Alinsky entered the University of Chicago. He studied in America's first sociology department under Ernest Burgess and Robert E. Park.
Overturning the propositions of a still ascendant eugenics movement, Burgess and Park argued that social disorganization, not heredity, was the cause of disease, crime, and other characteristics of slum life.
As the passage of successive waves of immigrants through such districts had demonstrated, it is the slum area itself, and not the particular group living there, with which social pathologies were associated.
Yet Alinsky claimed to be "astounded by all the horse manure [sociologists] were handing out about poverty and slums, playing down the suffering and deprivation, glossing over the misery and despair. I mean, Christ, I’d lived in a slum, I could see through all their complacent academic jargon to the realities."
