The First Rainbow Coalition: How the Ills of classism blurred the lines of racism

A review of a documentary by Texas filmmaker Ray Santisteban, which PBS broadcasted on January 27, 2020.

A press conference held by the Rainbow Coalition in 1969

The 1960’s were filled with oppression, racism, and revolution. Many know of the Black Panther Party and hold opinionated thoughts about them as well. To some, the Black Panther Party was nothing more than a violent gang, focused on division. One could only believe this one-dimensional view of the Party if they choose to ignore the organized resources the Black Panthers provided for the communities they served.

The documentary sets place in Chicago, said to be the most segregated city in America during the 1960’s.

Texas filmmaker Ray Santisteban tells a remarkable story of how the Chicago Black Panthers joined forces with the Young Lords a Puerto Rican organization and the Young Patriots, an organization of poor whites from the south, in order to combat the policy brutality, poor living conditions, and overall poverty that all three communities were facing.

The documentary highlights that on the brink of a race war Bob Lee a young Black Panther was able to cross racial lines and gather the organizations together to fight the mistreatment they were all experiencing.

The documentary opens and uses footage from the 1960’s throughout the film. The tone is set using black and white photos and sound bites from 1960’s Chicago. Martin Luther King Jr is quoted saying,

“I have never seen, even in Mississippi and Alabama mobs as hostile and hate filled as the ones I’ve seen in Chicago”.

Martin Luther King Jr’s quote brought complete clarity to what exactly poverty and racism felt like in Chicago during this time. Bob Lee knew that in order to combat the government they would have to be united and would be stronger together. In the film its documented that Bob Lee traveled to the slums of Uptown Chicago where the poor whites were receiving the same treatment as the black people in Chicago. Lee organizes with the Young Patriots Organization because of their shared frustrations; The Young Lords also had revolution on their mind, so they teamed up with them to create the First Rainbow Coalition.

The newly formed organization took on the colors of red, yellow, white, black, and brown to represent their unity.

Chicago was a place where you did not cross racial lines, you could be killed for going into the wrong part of town. The injustices and poverty that these three communities were facing unified them around a common goal.

“We are not going to fight racism with racism but with solidarity”, said Fred Hampton, a prominent chairman of the Black Panther Chicago chapter.

The Rainbow Coalition was formed, and their moto was all power to all the people.

The film showcases the Rainbow Coalition’s many successes with helping the community. As a response, its shown that the police cracked down harder on the organization; The police pulled many tactics to destroy any progress that the activist were making, even going as far to murder Fred Hampton and an associate. Their families would later receive a settlement, 13 years after his assassination.

The Rainbow Coalition was forced underground after Hamptons murder, eventually dismantling.

The film comes full circle, showing Bob Lee on what would be his death bed; The other leaders of the Rainbow Coalition come to visit him for the last time.

Quoting his friend Fred, Bob Lee says, “You can kill a revolutionary, but you can’t kill a revolution”.

With the current racial climate in America, I urge you to do two things. One, watch the film, The First Rainbow Coalition by Ray Santisteban, you can stream it for free here; and two, let the passion of these revolutionaries inspire you to stand up against what is common so you can do something extraordinary.