The Rainbow Coalition was a multicultural movement of cross-racial class solidarity, founded on the 4th of march in 1969, in Chicago, Illinois with the coming together of the Black Panther Party, the Young Lords, and the Young Patriots.

These organizations were under the leadership of Fred Hampton, Jose Cha Cha Jiménez, and William “Preacherman” Fesperman, respectively. It was the first of several 20th century Black-led organizations to use the “rainbow coalition” concept.

The Rainbow Coalition’s first alliance was between the Young Patriots and the Black Panthers by Bob Lee. Hampton then incorporated the Young Lords. The Rainbow Coalition soon included various radical socialist community groups like the Lincoln Park Poor People’s Coalition, and Rising Up Angry. The coalition was later joined nationwide by the Students for a Democratic Society (“SDS”), the Brown Berets, the American Indian Movement, and the Red Guard Party.

In April 1969, Hampton called several press conferences to announce that this “Rainbow Coalition” had formed. The Rainbow Coalition engaged in joint action against poverty, corruption, racism, police brutality, and substandard housing. The participating groups supported each other at protests, strikes, and demonstrations where they had a common cause.

The coalition espoused an iteration of militancy that aimed to decrease urban unemployment, promote public education, and advance “class” solidarity. For instance, in a 1970 issue of The Patriot, the Young Patriots Organization called for nonviolent support of Bobby Seale (on trial), but also declared that “Guns in the Hands of the Police Represent Capitalism and Racism…Guns In the Hands of the People Represent Socialism and Solidarity.” (the patriot 1)

The Coalition brokered treaties to end crime and gang violence and organized to establish class solidarity across racial lines. On December 3rd, Fred Hampton was assassinated by the Chicago Police Department and the FBI, and the Rainbow Coalition effectively dissolved.

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