The First Rainbow Coalition
- Description
- Reviews
- Citation
- Cataloging
- Transcript
The First Rainbow Coalition charts the history and legacy of a groundbreaking multi-ethnic coalition that rocked Chicago in the 1960s. Comprised of activists from the Black Panthers, the Young Patriots (southern whites), and the Young Lords (a former Puerto Rican street gang), Chicago’s Rainbow Coalition (1969-1971) united poor blacks, whites, and Latinos to openly challenge police brutality and substandard housing in one of the most segregated cities in America.
Bridging past and present, The First Rainbow Coalition examines the legacy of the Rainbow Coalition, exploring how contemporary problems that displace the poor in urban areas, such as gentrification and the relationship between the police and poor and minority communities, are fundamentally linked to the defining issues around which the Rainbow Coalition was organized. A thought-provoking film that sparks new dialogue about the 1960s, The First Rainbow Coalition provides an unparalleled platform for contemporary discussions on race and class in an increasingly divided United States.
Educational Media Reviews Online | Reviewed by Daniel L. Thacker, Reference and Instruction Librarian, Penn State Altoona
Highly Recommended
"The First Rainbow Coalition will fit well for political science and US history courses that need examples of a people’s history or class struggle. This film demonstrates multi-ethnic people and interracial politics joining forces for a common cause during one of the most tumultuous times in United States history."
AL DÍA NEWS Media
"This is the extraordinary story told by The First Rainbow Coalition, a documentary by San Antonio filmmaker Ray Santisteban, which will air on PBS, and features a young Black activist, Bobby Lee, who mustered the courage to go north of segregated Chicago to the poor white area with the firm purpose of sealing an alliance with his fiercest racial enemies –in pursuit of the common good."
Citation
Main credits
Santisteban, Ray (film director)
Santisteban, Ray (film producer)
Santisteban, Ray (director of photography)
Hampton, Fred (on-screen participant)
Lee, Bob (on-screen participant)
Other credits
Cinematographers, Ray Santisteban, Jason Chiu, Gustavo Aguilar, Rick Butler, Vicente Franco; editor, Leah Marino; composer, Angélica Negón.
Distributor subjects
U.S. History; Ethnic Studies; African American Studies; Latinx Studies; Puerto Rican History; Urban Studies; Social Justice; Racism; Political ScienceKeywords
WEBVTT
00:00:02.502 --> 00:00:02.794
[suspenseful music]
00:00:02.795 --> 00:00:05.005
♪ ♪
00:00:14.890 --> 00:00:16.210
- If you\'re white, you\'re right.
00:00:16.850 --> 00:00:18.476
If you\'re black, stay back.
00:00:18.477 --> 00:00:20.186
- But I don\'t think the majority
00:00:20.187 --> 00:00:21.520
know how to live like the white
people.
00:00:21.521 --> 00:00:22.855
- Well, like I said, there\'s a
place for them.
00:00:22.856 --> 00:00:24.942
They have their own place. They
could stay there.
00:00:25.317 --> 00:00:27.694
- In Chicago, we have no ghetto
00:00:27.986 --> 00:00:29.488
and we have no Negro ghetto.
00:00:30.197 --> 00:00:33.032
- Chicago has the largest
concentration
00:00:33.033 --> 00:00:35.535
of Negroes in an urban ghetto
00:00:36.245 --> 00:00:38.914
of any major city in the United
States.
00:00:39.414 --> 00:00:42.166
- The biggest and most serious
problem
00:00:42.167 --> 00:00:45.836
confronting the city of Chicago
is her race problem.
00:00:45.837 --> 00:00:48.047
- Do you think we\'re going to
have racial warfare?
00:00:48.048 --> 00:00:51.050
- I certainly see that coming.
00:00:51.051 --> 00:00:52.927
♪ ♪
00:00:52.928 --> 00:00:55.263
- We need to teach the police,
00:00:55.264 --> 00:00:58.267
we are citizen and that we
deserve the same respect.
00:00:59.184 --> 00:01:01.018
- People are learning to
struggle together.
00:01:01.019 --> 00:01:03.729
People are learning to fight
together.
00:01:03.730 --> 00:01:05.773
- If you say I\'m black and I
hate white people,
00:01:05.774 --> 00:01:07.441
I\'m white and I hate black
people,
00:01:07.442 --> 00:01:09.820
I\'m Latin American and I hate
hillbillies,
00:01:10.070 --> 00:01:12.071
I\'m hillbilly and I hate
Indians.
00:01:12.072 --> 00:01:13.656
So we\'re fighting amongst each
other.
00:01:13.657 --> 00:01:14.907
We\'re gonna fight racism not
with racism,
00:01:14.908 --> 00:01:16.508
but we\'re gonna fight it with
solidarity.
00:01:16.743 --> 00:01:24.743
♪ ♪
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[train wheels squeaking]
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[wind howling]
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- When I was young, I did
everything
00:01:39.850 --> 00:01:41.434
all the other gang members did
00:01:41.435 --> 00:01:43.478
and I would get into a lot of
trouble...
00:01:45.272 --> 00:01:47.857
a rough kid.
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[suspenseful ambient music]
00:01:49.943 --> 00:01:52.403
♪ ♪
00:01:52.404 --> 00:01:55.823
I was in the house of
correction, in the hole.
00:01:55.824 --> 00:01:57.616
Martin Luther King gets killed
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and the rioters are coming into
the jail en masse.
00:02:01.371 --> 00:02:04.541
♪ ♪
00:02:06.793 --> 00:02:07.586
And at the same time,
00:02:07.587 --> 00:02:10.254
I\'m hearing about the Black
Panther Party
00:02:10.255 --> 00:02:11.575
on the loudspeaker on the radio.
00:02:12.049 --> 00:02:14.050
- We\'re gonna defend ourselves
rightfully
00:02:14.051 --> 00:02:15.594
with guns and bullets!
00:02:16.094 --> 00:02:17.534
- I said that\'s what we need
to do,
00:02:17.888 --> 00:02:21.224
like the Black Panthers, in the
Puerto Rican community.
00:02:21.600 --> 00:02:24.018
♪ ♪
00:02:24.019 --> 00:02:27.563
[train clattering]
00:02:27.564 --> 00:02:28.065
♪ ♪
00:02:28.066 --> 00:02:30.650
♪ ♪
00:02:30.942 --> 00:02:34.779
- People call me Bobby Lee, Bob
Lee,
00:02:34.780 --> 00:02:39.658
but my birth name is Robert E.
Lee, Jr. III.
00:02:39.659 --> 00:02:41.327
♪ ♪
00:02:41.328 --> 00:02:42.578
In the black community,
00:02:42.579 --> 00:02:46.082
it\'s like naming a Jewish kid
Adolf Hitler.
00:02:46.083 --> 00:02:49.210
You gonna have a lot of fights.
00:02:49.211 --> 00:02:51.545
I was born in Houston, Fifth
Ward.
00:02:51.546 --> 00:02:54.215
You were told how not to stare
at white people.
00:02:54.216 --> 00:02:55.299
Get off and get over
00:02:55.300 --> 00:02:58.302
when you saw them coming down
the street.
00:02:58.303 --> 00:03:01.263
You were aware that when you
left home,
00:03:01.264 --> 00:03:03.766
you left your community,
00:03:03.767 --> 00:03:06.395
you could be killed, you can be
beaten.
00:03:06.812 --> 00:03:07.646
♪ ♪
00:03:07.647 --> 00:03:09.147
Arrived in Chicago,
00:03:09.856 --> 00:03:11.441
no, Chicago was no different.
00:03:12.692 --> 00:03:15.195
It was segregated.
00:03:15.904 --> 00:03:19.865
♪ ♪
00:03:19.866 --> 00:03:22.660
[trains creaking]
00:03:22.661 --> 00:03:25.496
[insects chirping]
00:03:25.497 --> 00:03:28.667
I\'m from a small town in
Tennessee, eastern Tennessee.
00:03:29.251 --> 00:03:30.876
And people ask me
00:03:30.877 --> 00:03:33.045
why I got into the
revolutionary politics
00:03:33.046 --> 00:03:34.589
and it\'s because of poverty.
00:03:35.507 --> 00:03:36.966
♪ ♪
00:03:36.967 --> 00:03:40.136
I started to work in the field
with my family
00:03:40.137 --> 00:03:42.471
when I was about three years
old.
00:03:42.472 --> 00:03:43.764
♪ ♪
00:03:43.765 --> 00:03:45.099
We were very poor.
00:03:45.100 --> 00:03:48.060
We would pool our money together
00:03:48.061 --> 00:03:50.981
and that\'s how we would eat in
the evening.
00:03:51.940 --> 00:03:55.276
So I came when I was 17 years
old...
00:03:55.277 --> 00:03:56.735
Looking for a better job,
00:03:56.736 --> 00:04:00.574
a better life... into the uptown
community.
00:04:01.116 --> 00:04:06.997
♪ ♪
00:04:07.372 --> 00:04:10.459
- Chicago was a really
important migrant destination.
00:04:10.959 --> 00:04:13.878
It was attracting a lot of
Southern African-Americans,
00:04:13.879 --> 00:04:17.424
Southern whites, and Puerto
Ricans from the island.
00:04:18.175 --> 00:04:21.177
There was this perception that
00:04:21.178 --> 00:04:24.389
there were really good wages to
be had in Chicago.
00:04:24.848 --> 00:04:27.433
They were encountering a white
ethnic population
00:04:27.434 --> 00:04:29.978
that had already been settled
there for many decades.
00:04:30.562 --> 00:04:36.358
♪ ♪
00:04:36.359 --> 00:04:37.568
- We were from Puerto Rico
00:04:37.569 --> 00:04:41.238
and we settled in the northern
part of downtown.
00:04:41.239 --> 00:04:41.948
♪ ♪
00:04:41.949 --> 00:04:44.618
[train rattling]
00:04:44.993 --> 00:04:48.497
Lincoln Park became about 40%
Latino.
00:04:48.747 --> 00:04:51.707
[surf rock music]
00:04:51.708 --> 00:04:54.085
Everybody was neighbors,
everybody was family.
00:04:55.170 --> 00:04:58.130
[suspenseful music]
00:04:58.131 --> 00:04:59.340
If you were Puerto Rican
00:04:59.341 --> 00:05:02.844
and you went into an Italian
or Irish neighborhood,
00:05:02.928 --> 00:05:03.928
you can get killed
00:05:04.262 --> 00:05:07.681
So there were certain boundaries
that we knew,
00:05:07.682 --> 00:05:10.685
the whole community knew, that
they couldn\'t go there.
00:05:10.936 --> 00:05:13.229
\"We don\'t allow Puerto Ricans
in this restaurant.\"
00:05:13.230 --> 00:05:15.105
\"You can\'t be in this beach.\"
00:05:15.106 --> 00:05:18.318
The Young Lords, that\'s how we
began fighting for our people.
00:05:18.568 --> 00:05:20.111
A nationality gang.
00:05:20.278 --> 00:05:22.489
And the Young Lords went
looking for the fight.
00:05:22.781 --> 00:05:26.243
We went to Benny\'s Pizzeria
and demanded to be served.
00:05:26.493 --> 00:05:27.493
Or going to the beach
00:05:27.827 --> 00:05:31.414
and cracking open heads with
beer bottles,
00:05:32.707 --> 00:05:34.376
just so that we can go to the
beach.
00:05:35.335 --> 00:05:38.213
[dramatic music]
00:05:38.338 --> 00:05:39.964
And then there was \"West Side
Story,\"
00:05:39.965 --> 00:05:42.133
the first movie about Puerto
Ricans.
00:05:43.426 --> 00:05:46.846
And so all the Young Lords
went to the Biograph Theater,
00:05:48.098 --> 00:05:50.684
and that\'s where we got our
colors,
00:05:51.351 --> 00:05:54.312
the Puerto Rican gang in the
movie.
00:05:54.938 --> 00:05:57.190
Everybody went and used red dye
00:05:57.607 --> 00:06:00.527
and dyed their shirts purple,
and that became our colors.
00:06:03.780 --> 00:06:08.325
[suspenseful ambient music]
00:06:08.326 --> 00:06:08.910
♪ ♪
00:06:08.911 --> 00:06:10.035
- When I went to Chicago,
00:06:10.036 --> 00:06:12.705
I noticed everything was
segregated;
00:06:12.706 --> 00:06:15.624
everybody was with their own
kind.
00:06:15.625 --> 00:06:17.084
You didn\'t go into their
community,
00:06:17.085 --> 00:06:18.878
they don\'t come into your
community.
00:06:19.254 --> 00:06:20.838
♪ ♪
00:06:20.839 --> 00:06:22.673
And that\'s the way it was in
uptown
00:06:22.674 --> 00:06:24.759
because it was Southern white.
00:06:26.052 --> 00:06:28.430
- ♪ This old world that\'s so
hard to understand ♪
00:06:29.139 --> 00:06:30.974
- Well, the uptown area was a
slum.
00:06:31.266 --> 00:06:32.808
It was, you know, a ghetto.
00:06:32.809 --> 00:06:34.852
- ♪ You love so ♪
00:06:34.853 --> 00:06:39.274
♪ But it\'s wonderful to know
when you leave ♪
00:06:39.691 --> 00:06:43.193
[solemn orchestral music]
00:06:43.194 --> 00:06:44.653
- A series of articles came out
00:06:44.654 --> 00:06:47.740
classifying us as a very
dangerous population.
00:06:47.741 --> 00:06:48.658
We were incestuous,
00:06:48.659 --> 00:06:51.703
we were violent, ignorant
racists.
00:06:53.330 --> 00:06:54.413
And that was the first time
00:06:54.414 --> 00:06:56.206
I\'d ever been called white trash
00:06:56.207 --> 00:06:57.958
was when I came to Chicago.
00:06:57.959 --> 00:07:00.462
♪ ♪
00:07:00.545 --> 00:07:03.506
Initially we had gotten
together a street gang,
00:07:03.715 --> 00:07:06.259
young guys who were hustling
like anybody.
00:07:07.385 --> 00:07:08.678
You cannot get a job.
00:07:09.471 --> 00:07:11.890
I had to go in and literally
sell blood
00:07:12.182 --> 00:07:13.433
just to survive.
00:07:14.392 --> 00:07:18.187
All: ♪ I\'m working on the
building ♪
00:07:18.188 --> 00:07:20.190
- Students for a Democratic
Society
00:07:20.357 --> 00:07:21.733
came into the community
00:07:21.983 --> 00:07:24.653
and they formed JOIN, Jobs or
Income Now.
00:07:25.945 --> 00:07:28.365
They were talking about the
civil rights movement.
00:07:29.491 --> 00:07:32.160
We started getting a political
ideology.
00:07:32.619 --> 00:07:34.370
- Trying to help the people in
the neighborhood
00:07:34.371 --> 00:07:36.206
with the landlords.
00:07:36.331 --> 00:07:38.166
It sounded better to me
00:07:39.292 --> 00:07:40.834
than what I was doing.
00:07:40.835 --> 00:07:42.169
I mean, I wasn\'t doing nothing.
00:07:42.170 --> 00:07:44.213
I was a kid running the street.
00:07:44.214 --> 00:07:47.299
[suspenseful ambient music]
00:07:47.300 --> 00:07:50.053
♪ ♪
00:07:50.804 --> 00:07:53.223
- I want to show you what has
happened to the neighborhoods
00:07:53.390 --> 00:07:56.101
surrounding the Negro community.
00:07:56.267 --> 00:07:59.562
This is the Negro community as
it existed in 1950.
00:08:00.855 --> 00:08:03.399
The green color is the Negro
community
00:08:03.400 --> 00:08:05.860
as it existed in 1960; it
doubled its size.
00:08:06.403 --> 00:08:08.237
This area cannot take any
Negroes
00:08:08.238 --> 00:08:10.824
because it will be inundated and
never integrated.
00:08:11.157 --> 00:08:12.741
- Right! - We\'re not going to
take it.
00:08:12.742 --> 00:08:14.911
[crowd shouting]
00:08:15.704 --> 00:08:17.329
- When you looked at a map
00:08:17.330 --> 00:08:19.873
that showed the South Side and
the West Side
00:08:19.874 --> 00:08:22.042
joining in a gigantic L,
00:08:22.043 --> 00:08:26.213
that is the largest contiguous
area
00:08:26.214 --> 00:08:30.301
of 90 or more percent black
population
00:08:30.552 --> 00:08:32.887
in the world outside of Africa.
00:08:33.096 --> 00:08:36.515
Segregation in Chicago was
locked in.
00:08:36.516 --> 00:08:38.226
♪ ♪
00:08:38.351 --> 00:08:39.935
Mayor Daley had used
00:08:39.936 --> 00:08:42.813
virtually every instrument of
government
00:08:42.814 --> 00:08:45.524
to keep it segregated.
00:08:45.525 --> 00:08:48.736
[ominous music]
00:08:48.737 --> 00:08:53.366
- Daley, who served as mayor
from 1955 to 1976,
00:08:53.908 --> 00:08:58.203
was, at his peak, the most
powerful,
00:08:58.204 --> 00:09:02.333
the most influential urban
figure in America.
00:09:02.709 --> 00:09:03.959
- From the Cook County
Democratic Party
00:09:03.960 --> 00:09:06.003
down to the precinct captains,
00:09:06.004 --> 00:09:08.088
it was a well-oiled machine,
00:09:08.089 --> 00:09:10.341
the Democratic political
machine.
00:09:11.134 --> 00:09:13.136
- Chicago was known for a
long, long time
00:09:13.386 --> 00:09:16.264
as one of the most segregated
cities in America.
00:09:17.182 --> 00:09:21.144
What Daley did is not to
challenge that on any level,
00:09:21.936 --> 00:09:24.564
and that was very important
for him politically
00:09:24.898 --> 00:09:28.193
because so much of his base were
extremely resistant
00:09:28.902 --> 00:09:32.613
to the idea of blacks moving
into their neighborhoods,
00:09:32.614 --> 00:09:35.742
and Daley served their
interests.
00:09:35.950 --> 00:09:39.036
[ominous music]
00:09:39.037 --> 00:09:40.496
- Now is the time
00:09:40.497 --> 00:09:43.500
to get rid of the slums and
ghettos of Chicago.
00:09:43.666 --> 00:09:46.044
Now is the time.
00:09:46.628 --> 00:09:49.839
We must realize that there must
be alliances now
00:09:50.089 --> 00:09:53.176
between Negroes and white people
of good will
00:09:53.384 --> 00:09:56.804
to get rid of poverty that
engulfs so much of our nation.
00:09:56.805 --> 00:09:59.306
[applause]
00:09:59.307 --> 00:10:03.018
[crowd shouting]
00:10:03.019 --> 00:10:03.812
♪ ♪
00:10:03.813 --> 00:10:05.729
I\'ve been in many demonstrations
00:10:05.730 --> 00:10:07.940
all across the South,
00:10:07.941 --> 00:10:11.026
but I can say that I have never
seen,
00:10:11.027 --> 00:10:12.736
even in Mississippi and Alabama,
00:10:12.737 --> 00:10:16.532
mobs as hostile and as
hate-filled
00:10:16.533 --> 00:10:18.493
as I have seen in Chicago.
00:10:21.788 --> 00:10:22.705
- Oh, yes!
00:10:22.706 --> 00:10:24.873
It\'s definitely a closed society
00:10:24.874 --> 00:10:27.876
and we\'re gonna make it an open
society.
00:10:27.877 --> 00:10:29.503
♪ ♪
00:10:29.504 --> 00:10:32.173
- The white flight went to the
suburbs
00:10:32.298 --> 00:10:36.678
to flee minorities coming into
the communities,
00:10:36.970 --> 00:10:40.056
and Mayor Daley wanted to bring
them back into the city.
00:10:40.598 --> 00:10:42.976
Urban renewal was a racist plan
00:10:43.142 --> 00:10:46.144
and supported by the federal
government with funds.
00:10:46.145 --> 00:10:47.771
[machinery chugging]
00:10:47.772 --> 00:10:48.731
- I would hope that tomorrow,
00:10:48.732 --> 00:10:51.567
every slum building in Chicago
would be demolished
00:10:51.568 --> 00:10:54.653
and we\'d have a decent home for
every family.
00:10:54.654 --> 00:10:56.697
This is the aim of the present
administration
00:10:56.698 --> 00:10:58.138
and we\'re gonna go through
with it.
00:11:00.285 --> 00:11:03.704
- We were just talking on the
street corner and at the bars
00:11:03.705 --> 00:11:06.290
about how the neighborhood was
changing and that.
00:11:06.291 --> 00:11:08.501
And then we found out about a
meeting
00:11:08.835 --> 00:11:11.211
at the Community Conservation
Council.
00:11:11.212 --> 00:11:13.881
♪ ♪
00:11:13.882 --> 00:11:14.632
We walked in there;
00:11:14.633 --> 00:11:18.594
there was a model display with
areas that are vacant,
00:11:18.595 --> 00:11:21.347
and these were Puerto Rican
areas.
00:11:22.473 --> 00:11:23.974
And we saw nothing but
00:11:23.975 --> 00:11:27.895
about 12 white men there
directing the meetings,
00:11:27.896 --> 00:11:29.188
so we told them,
00:11:29.731 --> 00:11:31.106
\"No more meetings here
00:11:31.107 --> 00:11:33.067
\"unless you have black, Latino,
00:11:33.401 --> 00:11:36.237
and poor white representation
in your council.\"
00:11:36.654 --> 00:11:38.907
And they looked at us like we
were crazy.
00:11:39.324 --> 00:11:41.033
So to prove our point,
00:11:41.034 --> 00:11:43.114
we picked up chairs and
started throwing them around,
00:11:43.536 --> 00:11:46.706
tore up all the plumbing,
trashed the entire place.
00:11:47.749 --> 00:11:51.043
We shut down the Department of
Urban Renewal
00:11:51.044 --> 00:11:52.961
for about three months.
00:11:52.962 --> 00:11:55.214
That was a victory. [chuckles]
00:11:56.966 --> 00:11:59.301
- I come from a people in the
neighborhood
00:11:59.302 --> 00:12:01.262
that never worried about
threats from anyone.
00:12:01.846 --> 00:12:02.472
And as far as... - I know, but
have you...
00:12:02.473 --> 00:12:05.766
- I\'m concerned, there\'ll be law
and order in this town
00:12:05.767 --> 00:12:07.100
as long as I\'m mayor.
00:12:07.101 --> 00:12:08.895
- What were you doing when this
rookie cop hit you?
00:12:09.062 --> 00:12:10.939
- I wasn\'t doing anything.
00:12:11.981 --> 00:12:13.733
- Police brutality.
00:12:15.777 --> 00:12:18.403
Police everywhere aggravating
everybody.
00:12:18.404 --> 00:12:20.197
[siren wailing]
00:12:20.198 --> 00:12:23.033
And just any reason to get us
in that police station.
00:12:23.034 --> 00:12:24.451
[siren wailing]
00:12:24.452 --> 00:12:25.994
And they had a bench...
00:12:25.995 --> 00:12:27.663
[siren wailing]
00:12:27.664 --> 00:12:29.582
with the handcuff on the side
00:12:30.708 --> 00:12:31.793
so they can cuff you
00:12:33.252 --> 00:12:34.504
and beat the [bleep] out of you
00:12:35.088 --> 00:12:36.088
with a phone book
00:12:37.173 --> 00:12:38.733
or whatever they wanted to hit
you with,
00:12:38.967 --> 00:12:40.677
as long as they didn\'t leave
any marks.
00:12:41.052 --> 00:12:43.345
[sirens wailing]
00:12:43.346 --> 00:12:45.013
- They were free to do their
own activities,
00:12:45.014 --> 00:12:46.264
whatever they want, you know,
00:12:46.265 --> 00:12:48.225
to treat people any way they
wanted to treat them.
00:12:48.643 --> 00:12:50.852
And we knew that we could
either give up
00:12:50.853 --> 00:12:53.397
or we could fight, so we
decided we\'d fight.
00:12:53.398 --> 00:12:56.733
[dramatic music]
00:12:56.734 --> 00:12:59.946
- You would get beat up before
you even walked in the jail.
00:13:00.905 --> 00:13:02.656
I just got beat up, you know,
that was it,
00:13:02.657 --> 00:13:03.991
and I had to accept it.
00:13:03.992 --> 00:13:04.992
Who do I complain to?
00:13:06.494 --> 00:13:07.787
[gunshot]
00:13:08.454 --> 00:13:10.456
[fire crackling]
00:13:11.374 --> 00:13:14.168
- When King was killed, all of
us was affected.
00:13:15.336 --> 00:13:17.254
There was rage, there was anger.
00:13:17.255 --> 00:13:18.964
[gunfire and sirens wailing]
00:13:18.965 --> 00:13:21.259
- Shoot to kill any arsonists
00:13:21.426 --> 00:13:23.343
or anyone with a Molotov
cocktail
00:13:23.344 --> 00:13:25.138
in their hand in Chicago.
00:13:26.472 --> 00:13:28.975
[foreboding music]
00:13:29.267 --> 00:13:30.226
♪ ♪
00:13:30.227 --> 00:13:32.352
[crowd shouting]
00:13:32.353 --> 00:13:36.524
- Daley showed his power
through the use of his police
00:13:37.066 --> 00:13:39.485
during the Democratic
Convention, 1968.
00:13:40.903 --> 00:13:43.447
That was Daley.
00:13:43.448 --> 00:13:46.825
- No one lost their lives in
Chicago.
00:13:46.826 --> 00:13:49.161
And all I did was what I thought
was my duty
00:13:49.162 --> 00:13:51.998
under the Constitution and under
my oath of office.
00:13:52.331 --> 00:13:55.042
I\'ve never tolerated brutality.
00:13:55.043 --> 00:13:56.251
- The Democratic Convention,
00:13:56.252 --> 00:13:59.046
we had seen the hippies being
beaten in Lincoln Park.
00:13:59.047 --> 00:14:00.464
We could relate to that.
00:14:00.465 --> 00:14:02.382
What was going on in the
Vietnam War,
00:14:02.383 --> 00:14:05.844
Martin Luther King and Malcolm
X being killed,
00:14:05.845 --> 00:14:08.346
our families being evicted
from their homes.
00:14:08.347 --> 00:14:11.684
All that affected us and
awakened us.
00:14:13.144 --> 00:14:15.353
The Young Lords started
transforming themselves
00:14:15.354 --> 00:14:17.982
from a gang into a human rights
movement.
00:14:19.525 --> 00:14:21.651
The mission was
self-determination
00:14:21.652 --> 00:14:22.652
for Puerto Rico.
00:14:22.653 --> 00:14:25.865
That meant that we were powerful
as a people,
00:14:26.866 --> 00:14:29.701
as a nation, to promote a sense
of pride
00:14:29.702 --> 00:14:31.870
for being Puerto Rican.
00:14:31.871 --> 00:14:34.372
And we wanted neighborhood
empowerment.
00:14:34.373 --> 00:14:36.417
[pensive piano music]
00:14:37.001 --> 00:14:39.461
[train creaking]
00:14:39.462 --> 00:14:41.463
- What we have to do now is
pull ourselves together
00:14:41.464 --> 00:14:42.964
into a functioning group of
people
00:14:42.965 --> 00:14:44.633
who could go out and rebel
against them.
00:14:44.634 --> 00:14:46.384
- See, one of the things
00:14:46.385 --> 00:14:48.011
that\'s good about the Young
Patriots
00:14:48.012 --> 00:14:50.252
is, they\'re all interested in
the problems they got here,
00:14:52.517 --> 00:14:54.935
you know, and they want to
change them.
00:14:54.936 --> 00:14:57.105
We\'re gonna be patriotic to the
community,
00:14:57.647 --> 00:15:00.483
not necessarily patriotic to the
system.
00:15:01.234 --> 00:15:03.194
That\'s our way of being
patriotic.
00:15:03.611 --> 00:15:05.403
If we\'re gonna try to help our
community,
00:15:05.404 --> 00:15:06.404
then we are patriots.
00:15:07.365 --> 00:15:10.827
♪ ♪
00:15:11.744 --> 00:15:12.953
- I\'m the deputy chairman
00:15:12.954 --> 00:15:15.274
of the state of Illinois Black
Panther Party, Fred Hampton.
00:15:15.373 --> 00:15:16.957
All: Right on!
00:15:16.958 --> 00:15:18.083
- We\'re not a racist
organization
00:15:18.084 --> 00:15:19.584
because we understand
00:15:19.585 --> 00:15:23.463
that racism is an excuse used
for capitalism.
00:15:23.464 --> 00:15:24.965
It\'s a by-product of
capitalism.
00:15:24.966 --> 00:15:27.384
- Fred was such a powerful
speaker
00:15:27.385 --> 00:15:28.677
that, you know,
00:15:28.678 --> 00:15:30.220
once people heard Fred speak,
00:15:30.221 --> 00:15:32.181
they were just, you know, drawn.
00:15:32.932 --> 00:15:33.766
We want freedom.
00:15:33.767 --> 00:15:37.353
We want the power to determine
our own destiny.
00:15:37.603 --> 00:15:39.271
That\'s the first point.
00:15:39.272 --> 00:15:43.441
We want true education, decent
housing.
00:15:43.442 --> 00:15:45.402
We want people to have fair
trials
00:15:45.403 --> 00:15:47.821
with a jury of their peers.
00:15:47.822 --> 00:15:49.698
We want an end to police
brutality.
00:15:49.699 --> 00:15:51.241
Pretty much the same things
00:15:51.242 --> 00:15:53.411
that ring true now,
unfortunately.
00:15:53.703 --> 00:15:56.872
- Everybody in the state of
Illinois
00:15:56.873 --> 00:15:59.875
is gonna have to be involved or
even around the revolution,
00:15:59.876 --> 00:16:01.084
\'cause we\'re gonna have one.
00:16:01.085 --> 00:16:02.879
- For all of us in the party,
00:16:03.462 --> 00:16:07.425
Fred Hampton was someone we all
respected.
00:16:07.884 --> 00:16:08.718
- We, the Black Panther Party,
00:16:08.719 --> 00:16:10.844
at this time is a political
self-defense,
00:16:10.845 --> 00:16:13.722
a military, armed political
unit.
00:16:13.723 --> 00:16:15.766
That\'s the definition of the
Black Panther Party.
00:16:16.142 --> 00:16:19.395
- You could touch Fred. He was
a servant leader.
00:16:19.854 --> 00:16:21.272
He read a lot.
00:16:21.814 --> 00:16:23.481
And I was very impressed.
00:16:23.482 --> 00:16:24.774
- There\'s no educational program
here?
00:16:24.775 --> 00:16:26.443
- No. - You know, are you...
00:16:26.444 --> 00:16:29.155
- Fred came to me, as his field
secretary,
00:16:29.739 --> 00:16:32.575
and he said, \"Lee, you handle
the North Side.\"
00:16:33.075 --> 00:16:36.745
[trains clattering]
00:16:36.746 --> 00:16:38.288
[disconsolate ambient music]
00:16:38.289 --> 00:16:40.457
- One day, Bob Lee said,
00:16:40.458 --> 00:16:44.754
\"Hey, man, I want you to take a
ride with me tonight.
00:16:46.005 --> 00:16:48.423
\"We got to go to this place
called Uptown.
00:16:48.424 --> 00:16:50.634
I need you to be my security
man.\"
00:16:50.635 --> 00:16:52.177
♪ ♪
00:16:52.178 --> 00:16:56.015
- They were poor, man. Uptown
was a slum.
00:16:57.225 --> 00:16:58.934
You could smell it.
00:16:58.935 --> 00:17:01.144
See, you could smell a slum.
00:17:01.145 --> 00:17:02.812
♪ ♪
00:17:02.813 --> 00:17:06.234
- We all went to this community
meeting
00:17:06.984 --> 00:17:09.486
with the JOIN organization.
00:17:09.487 --> 00:17:11.821
- Panthers are here.
00:17:11.822 --> 00:17:13.657
Are here.
00:17:13.658 --> 00:17:15.534
Panthers are here. - Yeah.
00:17:16.244 --> 00:17:18.703
- For Uptown. - Okay.
00:17:18.704 --> 00:17:20.163
We come here with our hearts
open
00:17:20.164 --> 00:17:24.001
for you cats to supervise us
where we can be of help to you.
00:17:24.293 --> 00:17:26.503
What do you want in your
community?
00:17:26.504 --> 00:17:27.964
What do you want here?
00:17:32.551 --> 00:17:33.344
Are you afraid?
00:17:33.345 --> 00:17:35.805
You want us to take the berets
off, man,
00:17:36.222 --> 00:17:37.056
or what, man?
00:17:37.057 --> 00:17:38.723
- There were a lot of suspicions
00:17:38.724 --> 00:17:40.183
about the Black Panthers,
00:17:40.184 --> 00:17:44.313
that they were gun-carrying
terrorists.
00:17:45.064 --> 00:17:48.566
- It was a scenario that I had
never been in before.
00:17:48.567 --> 00:17:51.946
I see some guys with
Confederate flag patches.
00:17:52.738 --> 00:17:54.155
I was a little concerned.
00:17:54.156 --> 00:17:55.532
- See, the thing we got to deal
with
00:17:55.533 --> 00:17:56.951
is the concept of poverty, man.
00:17:57.201 --> 00:17:59.077
We got to erase the color thing,
see?
00:17:59.078 --> 00:18:00.745
- These buildings are not fit
for dogs to live in,
00:18:00.746 --> 00:18:03.624
but humans have to be pay $144 a
month for the thing.
00:18:04.125 --> 00:18:06.836
They sold the building, you
know, to new ownership.
00:18:07.044 --> 00:18:08.884
What we need is understanding
among the people,
00:18:09.171 --> 00:18:10.089
coalition between the people
00:18:10.090 --> 00:18:12.383
to stick together and take them
owners
00:18:13.467 --> 00:18:14.634
and put them over here in the
lake somewhere.
00:18:14.635 --> 00:18:15.511
- Right on!
00:18:15.512 --> 00:18:17.387
[applause]
00:18:17.388 --> 00:18:18.764
Once you realize, man,
00:18:19.015 --> 00:18:21.309
that your house is funky with
rats and roaches,
00:18:21.684 --> 00:18:24.020
you know, same way a black
dude\'s house is,
00:18:24.228 --> 00:18:25.603
you know, once you realize
00:18:25.604 --> 00:18:28.106
that your brothers have been
brutalized by the cops,
00:18:28.107 --> 00:18:30.526
the same way the West Side and
South Side is,
00:18:31.027 --> 00:18:33.404
once you realize that you are
paying taxes,
00:18:33.863 --> 00:18:36.324
taxes for the cops to whup your
ass!
00:18:37.074 --> 00:18:38.283
You\'re paying them!
00:18:38.284 --> 00:18:39.201
- Yeah, man.
00:18:39.202 --> 00:18:40.995
- You\'re paying them to kill
you!
00:18:41.704 --> 00:18:42.704
You deal with that.
00:18:42.913 --> 00:18:44.247
The same things happen on the
South Side...
00:18:44.248 --> 00:18:47.335
- Bob Lee turned out to be
quite an organizer.
00:18:48.502 --> 00:18:51.212
And he says, \"Yeah, my name is
Bobby Lee,
00:18:51.213 --> 00:18:53.256
but my real name is Robert E.
Lee.\"
00:18:53.257 --> 00:18:55.342
[laughs]
00:18:55.343 --> 00:18:56.676
And we all laughed.
00:18:56.677 --> 00:18:58.721
We said, \"You gotta be kidding
me!\"
00:18:59.263 --> 00:19:01.514
- Who\'s here that want to see
this thing move?
00:19:01.515 --> 00:19:03.267
- Yeah, man.
00:19:03.684 --> 00:19:05.143
- Right on, well, the first
thing we talk about now
00:19:05.144 --> 00:19:06.853
is how we\'re gonna organize,
00:19:06.854 --> 00:19:07.854
you know, where are we gonna
organize?
00:19:07.855 --> 00:19:08.647
- And, you know, we\'re all gonna
00:19:08.648 --> 00:19:09.898
get run out of here eventually.
00:19:09.899 --> 00:19:11.484
That was a good meeting.
00:19:11.984 --> 00:19:13.319
It was. It got everybody...
00:19:14.445 --> 00:19:16.613
It got everybody riled up.
00:19:16.614 --> 00:19:19.116
It was a good start to a
coalition.
00:19:20.159 --> 00:19:23.204
- We worked very, very hard in
the Uptown community.
00:19:23.412 --> 00:19:24.412
It was two weeks.
00:19:24.747 --> 00:19:27.333
We went there every day, every
night.
00:19:27.917 --> 00:19:30.752
[applause]
00:19:30.753 --> 00:19:32.462
[heavy ambient music]
00:19:32.463 --> 00:19:33.463
♪ ♪
00:19:33.964 --> 00:19:35.715
Here is a white community
00:19:35.716 --> 00:19:39.428
asking for help from the Black
Panther Party, man.
00:19:40.054 --> 00:19:43.891
I knew that this was serious.
00:19:44.475 --> 00:19:47.977
[dramatic music]
00:19:47.978 --> 00:19:50.481
♪ ♪
00:19:50.648 --> 00:19:53.733
- We went to the 18th District
police station
00:19:53.734 --> 00:19:55.402
as a community.
00:19:55.403 --> 00:19:57.862
We locked the doors and we
pushed them to the side
00:19:57.863 --> 00:19:58.864
and we spoke.
00:19:59.782 --> 00:20:04.160
It was a nonviolent takeover of
a police workshop meeting.
00:20:04.161 --> 00:20:06.663
The very next day, it came out
in the news
00:20:06.664 --> 00:20:08.374
and that\'s when we met Fred
Hampton.
00:20:09.542 --> 00:20:11.918
We were talking about how we
can work together.
00:20:11.919 --> 00:20:12.795
Then they told us about
00:20:12.796 --> 00:20:14.839
the Young Patriots in the
North Side.
00:20:14.880 --> 00:20:15.964
- We said that we\'ll work with
anybody
00:20:15.965 --> 00:20:17.674
and form coalitions with anybody
00:20:17.675 --> 00:20:19.885
that has revolution on their
mind.
00:20:20.845 --> 00:20:23.389
- We called a coalition
meeting...
00:20:23.722 --> 00:20:26.141
[suspenseful music]
00:20:26.142 --> 00:20:29.602
♪ ♪
00:20:29.603 --> 00:20:32.313
To bring them all together.
00:20:32.314 --> 00:20:38.278
♪ ♪
00:20:38.279 --> 00:20:39.946
It came together, man.
00:20:39.947 --> 00:20:41.657
We all sat together, warriors.
00:20:42.700 --> 00:20:44.826
We looked good, boy.
00:20:44.827 --> 00:20:47.955
- This here is a Rainbow
Coalition button,
00:20:48.164 --> 00:20:52.168
and there\'s white, brown,
yellow, red, and black.
00:20:53.294 --> 00:20:54.879
It didn\'t matter what color you
were.
00:20:55.254 --> 00:20:58.047
You wore this with pride.
00:20:58.048 --> 00:21:00.717
- The Rainbow Coalition was
about uniting communities
00:21:00.718 --> 00:21:02.803
so that we can make
revolutionary change.
00:21:03.345 --> 00:21:06.015
Our communities were all
struggling for the same cause.
00:21:06.307 --> 00:21:07.933
In unity, there was force.
00:21:09.101 --> 00:21:13.646
- Urban Southern whites with
Puerto Ricans and blacks.
00:21:13.647 --> 00:21:16.232
I don\'t think there had ever
been anything that substantial
00:21:16.233 --> 00:21:17.943
in any urban environment.
00:21:18.569 --> 00:21:20.404
What was going on in your
neighborhood,
00:21:20.863 --> 00:21:23.866
the same thing was going on in
my neighborhood, you know?
00:21:25.159 --> 00:21:26.577
And how you gonna change that?
00:21:27.411 --> 00:21:28.204
You ain\'t gonna change it
00:21:28.205 --> 00:21:30.045
by hating the people in the
other neighborhood.
00:21:31.165 --> 00:21:33.292
But the fastest way to change
that
00:21:33.584 --> 00:21:35.711
was for those neighborhoods to
come together.
00:21:36.045 --> 00:21:37.963
Housing issues, police
brutality,
00:21:38.088 --> 00:21:39.507
just being fed up.
00:21:39.673 --> 00:21:41.073
That\'s what we could all agree
on.
00:21:41.133 --> 00:21:43.051
- The Panther Party in Chicago,
00:21:43.052 --> 00:21:46.305
they\'re not only organizing the
Young Lords.
00:21:47.014 --> 00:21:48.223
They\'re creating coalitions
00:21:48.224 --> 00:21:51.518
with another vanguard
revolutionary group
00:21:51.519 --> 00:21:53.312
called the Young Patriots.
00:21:54.605 --> 00:21:56.815
Poor white people
00:21:57.608 --> 00:22:01.152
have begun to relate to the
ten-point platform and program
00:22:01.153 --> 00:22:02.404
of the Black Panther Party.
00:22:03.656 --> 00:22:06.534
The young Appalachian white
people.
00:22:07.743 --> 00:22:10.287
- That flag meant blood and
murder.
00:22:11.497 --> 00:22:14.166
Who in the [bleep] wanted to be
around that flag, man?
00:22:14.542 --> 00:22:16.252
Let\'s be realistic now.
00:22:17.336 --> 00:22:20.213
- I just want to deal with black
and black liberation.
00:22:20.214 --> 00:22:21.422
Everybody gets uptight
00:22:21.423 --> 00:22:22.966
when a few honkies get their
heads beat.
00:22:22.967 --> 00:22:25.219
What did they do when we was
getting our heads beat?
00:22:25.844 --> 00:22:28.044
- So you had some Panthers that
couldn\'t handle it, man.
00:22:29.223 --> 00:22:30.474
They couldn\'t handle it.
00:22:31.725 --> 00:22:32.725
They left.
00:22:33.519 --> 00:22:35.103
- We always had the flag.
00:22:35.104 --> 00:22:37.105
We were brought up with the
Confederate flag.
00:22:37.106 --> 00:22:40.316
We were trying to confront
people on their racism.
00:22:40.317 --> 00:22:44.028
You know, wear the flag with
the \"Black Power\"
00:22:44.029 --> 00:22:47.700
or \"Free Huey\" and it would
spark up conversations.
00:22:48.158 --> 00:22:51.202
The contradiction makes people
think.
00:22:51.203 --> 00:22:54.665
Fred Hampton understood what
we were trying to do
00:22:54.957 --> 00:22:58.084
and therefore he welcomed it
into the Rainbow Coalition
00:22:58.085 --> 00:23:01.796
and allowed us to even go to
rallies wearing that flag.
00:23:01.797 --> 00:23:04.425
- If you gonna organize with
folks...
00:23:04.883 --> 00:23:07.760
you first respect
00:23:07.761 --> 00:23:09.638
their top values.
00:23:10.055 --> 00:23:12.265
- We started going around with
him.
00:23:12.266 --> 00:23:14.267
He took us under his wing
00:23:14.268 --> 00:23:17.354
and basically helped us, you
know, guided us.
00:23:17.688 --> 00:23:21.609
- We say to pig Daley,
hammerhead Hanrahan,
00:23:22.026 --> 00:23:24.028
pig Conners, and the rest,
00:23:24.737 --> 00:23:27.364
no more brothers will be taken
from us without cause.
00:23:27.865 --> 00:23:30.993
- Class consciousness cuts
across
00:23:31.243 --> 00:23:33.454
all kinds of strata.
00:23:33.704 --> 00:23:36.080
For poor white people to be
working
00:23:36.081 --> 00:23:39.043
with poor black people was
unheard of.
00:23:39.126 --> 00:23:40.877
- Black people and white poor
people
00:23:40.878 --> 00:23:43.171
and red poor people and Puerto
Rican poor people
00:23:43.172 --> 00:23:45.173
and Latin American poor people
00:23:45.174 --> 00:23:45.924
and poor people of all descents,
00:23:45.925 --> 00:23:48.468
they have them caught up in
movements based on racism
00:23:48.469 --> 00:23:50.053
when the Black Panther Party
stood up and said
00:23:50.054 --> 00:23:51.512
that we don\'t care what anybody
says.
00:23:51.513 --> 00:23:53.014
We\'re gonna fight racism not
with racism,
00:23:53.015 --> 00:23:54.975
but we\'re gonna fight it with
solidarity.
00:23:55.184 --> 00:23:59.521
- This was during the peak of
the Black Power era.
00:24:00.022 --> 00:24:03.609
The revolutionary struggle that
we were envisioning
00:24:04.068 --> 00:24:05.653
was to eliminate racism.
00:24:06.236 --> 00:24:08.029
And in order to eliminate
racism,
00:24:08.030 --> 00:24:09.405
you couldn\'t practice racism.
00:24:09.406 --> 00:24:11.783
♪ ♪
00:24:11.784 --> 00:24:15.328
- We came together as true
brothers and sisters
00:24:15.329 --> 00:24:16.997
to stand up together.
00:24:17.331 --> 00:24:19.123
- The motto of the Black
Panther Party
00:24:19.124 --> 00:24:20.626
was, \"All power to all the
people.\"
00:24:22.544 --> 00:24:24.755
Not all power
00:24:25.839 --> 00:24:28.383
to some of the people, all the
people.
00:24:28.384 --> 00:24:29.967
- Come on in, little sisters.
Y\'all can sit down.
00:24:29.968 --> 00:24:32.054
- Children were going to school
hungry,
00:24:32.638 --> 00:24:35.182
and there were no federal
programs for that.
00:24:35.766 --> 00:24:38.935
And the Black Panther Party was
the first group I saw
00:24:38.936 --> 00:24:41.938
that was talking about taking
control of your own destiny.
00:24:41.939 --> 00:24:45.067
Instead of just asking people
for something,
00:24:45.442 --> 00:24:48.695
it was like, \"Okay, if our kids
are starving,
00:24:48.696 --> 00:24:49.571
then let\'s give them
breakfast.\"
00:24:49.572 --> 00:24:52.532
- ♪ We got the free breakfast
program ♪
00:24:52.533 --> 00:24:54.450
all: ♪ Free breakfast program ♪
00:24:54.451 --> 00:24:57.037
- They showed us the
importance of programs.
00:24:57.663 --> 00:24:59.872
We set up a free breakfast for
children program,
00:24:59.873 --> 00:25:01.290
a free health clinic and
dental clinic,
00:25:01.291 --> 00:25:04.336
a free clothing program, a
food pantry.
00:25:04.878 --> 00:25:07.880
Something that the government,
Mayor Daley was not doing.
00:25:07.881 --> 00:25:10.633
All: ♪ All of these people ♪
00:25:10.634 --> 00:25:12.343
- ♪ We got the free health
clinic ♪
00:25:12.344 --> 00:25:14.137
all: ♪ Free health clinic ♪
00:25:14.138 --> 00:25:15.972
- ♪ Cure sick people ♪
00:25:15.973 --> 00:25:18.891
- We started working with the
coalition
00:25:18.892 --> 00:25:21.894
and were able to get resources
from that
00:25:21.895 --> 00:25:24.565
to set up a free health clinic.
00:25:25.315 --> 00:25:28.318
- We\'re feeding 3,000 to 4,000
every week already
00:25:28.527 --> 00:25:30.447
and I don\'t know how many all
around the country.
00:25:30.738 --> 00:25:33.031
We\'re out there every day and
educating.
00:25:33.282 --> 00:25:34.323
People learn by example.
00:25:34.324 --> 00:25:36.117
I don\'t think anybody has an
argument with that.
00:25:36.118 --> 00:25:38.454
And I think the Black Panther
Party is doing that.
00:25:39.288 --> 00:25:41.122
- It was not a disciplined
organization
00:25:41.123 --> 00:25:43.917
but more of a symbolic mass
movement
00:25:44.751 --> 00:25:47.128
that was trying to bring in
more and more people
00:25:47.129 --> 00:25:48.464
into the coalition.
00:25:49.339 --> 00:25:51.591
- The idea of the Rainbow
Coalition
00:25:51.592 --> 00:25:55.762
made a lot of sense to us and we
promoted that.
00:25:56.054 --> 00:25:58.556
We talked about Fred Hampton a
lot.
00:25:58.557 --> 00:26:02.268
♪ ♪
00:26:02.269 --> 00:26:03.644
- These experiments were
happening
00:26:03.645 --> 00:26:05.646
all over the country.
00:26:05.647 --> 00:26:07.815
In Chicago, there was another
organization
00:26:07.816 --> 00:26:09.817
called Rising Up Angry.
00:26:09.818 --> 00:26:11.778
They organized all over Chicago.
00:26:12.446 --> 00:26:13.863
There were rainbow coalitions,
00:26:13.864 --> 00:26:16.574
small R and small C rainbow
coalitions
00:26:16.575 --> 00:26:17.783
all over the place
00:26:17.784 --> 00:26:20.995
that included groups like the
American Indian Movement,
00:26:20.996 --> 00:26:22.788
like the Brown Berets.
00:26:22.789 --> 00:26:24.582
- As we worked together, we saw,
00:26:24.583 --> 00:26:26.334
\"Wow, we\'re really a lot
stronger
00:26:26.335 --> 00:26:27.668
if we do this together.\"
00:26:27.669 --> 00:26:31.380
And it made us think that if we
really want to change society,
00:26:31.381 --> 00:26:32.924
we all had to come together
00:26:32.925 --> 00:26:35.010
and support each other\'s
struggles.
00:26:36.136 --> 00:26:38.763
- It just felt natural that you
would struggle
00:26:38.764 --> 00:26:42.559
with other people who have been
marginalized
00:26:42.726 --> 00:26:46.562
and who have been held down and
who have been oppressed.
00:26:46.563 --> 00:26:47.523
[crowd chanting] Poor people
power!
00:26:47.524 --> 00:26:49.148
Poor people power!
00:26:49.149 --> 00:26:51.275
- Whether you\'re from the south,
north, east, or west,
00:26:51.276 --> 00:26:54.404
whether you\'re a Negro,
hillbilly, or Yankee,
00:26:54.738 --> 00:26:56.697
we\'re gonna stand here and fight
together.
00:26:56.698 --> 00:26:58.533
Mr. Daley can take his money and
his machine,
00:26:58.534 --> 00:27:00.536
his Uptown can take his money
and his machine,
00:27:00.702 --> 00:27:02.537
and go straight to
H-E-you-know-where with it.
00:27:02.538 --> 00:27:04.163
[cheers and applause]
00:27:04.164 --> 00:27:07.041
- There\'s been trouble, there\'s
gonna be more trouble,
00:27:07.042 --> 00:27:08.668
and we\'re gonna continue to have
more trouble.
00:27:08.669 --> 00:27:09.961
You see, people are gonna...
00:27:09.962 --> 00:27:11.420
Are learning to struggle
together.
00:27:11.421 --> 00:27:13.131
People are learning to fight
together.
00:27:13.799 --> 00:27:15.091
And I don\'t think that\'s
trouble, you know.
00:27:15.092 --> 00:27:16.842
I think that\'s self-defense, you
know.
00:27:16.843 --> 00:27:18.637
I think we\'re defending
ourselves, you know.
00:27:19.012 --> 00:27:20.221
I think the trouble has already
come
00:27:20.222 --> 00:27:22.557
when urban removal came to this
neighborhood.
00:27:22.558 --> 00:27:24.267
[crowd shouting and chanting]
00:27:24.268 --> 00:27:25.477
- The Black Panthers,
00:27:25.644 --> 00:27:26.603
we\'re gonna run this black
community!
00:27:26.604 --> 00:27:27.687
We are not gonna compromise!
00:27:27.688 --> 00:27:31.148
- There was this sense of
solidarity internationally.
00:27:31.149 --> 00:27:33.901
These are communities who are
struggling
00:27:33.902 --> 00:27:37.197
for very much of the same
goals: end to oppression.
00:27:38.323 --> 00:27:40.284
- We were connected to the world
00:27:40.784 --> 00:27:42.703
and uniting with all these
struggles.
00:27:42.869 --> 00:27:45.162
That was the beauty of it.
00:27:45.163 --> 00:27:48.374
The world was on fire and we
were part of that flame.
00:27:48.375 --> 00:27:51.460
[grim ambient music]
00:27:51.461 --> 00:27:56.133
♪ ♪
00:27:56.633 --> 00:27:59.594
- It appeared to me they
wanted the white community
00:27:59.595 --> 00:28:02.138
to think that they could be
violent
00:28:02.139 --> 00:28:04.557
if they had to on behalf of
their people,
00:28:04.558 --> 00:28:07.351
so don\'t mess with our people.
00:28:07.352 --> 00:28:10.104
They were meant to scare the
police,
00:28:10.105 --> 00:28:12.023
but it was turned against them.
00:28:12.024 --> 00:28:14.233
It played right into the hands
of Daley to say,
00:28:14.234 --> 00:28:16.445
\"You see how these violent
people are?\"
00:28:16.695 --> 00:28:19.531
- We\'re talking about
revolution.
00:28:19.656 --> 00:28:24.620
- This was a complete challenge
to the structure, you know?
00:28:24.745 --> 00:28:27.455
It wasn\'t saying, \"Let us in.\"
00:28:27.456 --> 00:28:29.498
That was not, you know...
00:28:29.499 --> 00:28:33.211
That was not the position of the
Rainbow Coalition.
00:28:33.503 --> 00:28:36.214
We didn\'t want in, so he
didn\'t have a handle on us.
00:28:36.757 --> 00:28:40.384
[applause]
00:28:40.385 --> 00:28:42.386
[train wheels grinding]
00:28:42.387 --> 00:28:45.765
- Every meeting that\'s been held
in Threshold\'s hall
00:28:45.766 --> 00:28:47.975
has been observed by the Red
Squad and photographed
00:28:47.976 --> 00:28:49.977
because I\'ve watched them.
00:28:49.978 --> 00:28:51.937
I want to know what the purpose
of this is.
00:28:51.938 --> 00:28:53.773
- The Red Squad,
00:28:53.774 --> 00:28:54.524
they take your picture,
00:28:54.525 --> 00:28:56.942
just as these people are
taking my picture here.
00:28:56.943 --> 00:28:57.985
[ominous music]
00:28:57.986 --> 00:28:59.403
- The Red Squad.
00:28:59.404 --> 00:29:00.946
[ominous music]
00:29:00.947 --> 00:29:03.366
Their purpose was to identify
00:29:03.367 --> 00:29:06.244
and observe and even arrest
00:29:06.745 --> 00:29:08.454
people that were considered
00:29:08.455 --> 00:29:13.542
to be communist or socialist or
on the Red side.
00:29:13.543 --> 00:29:14.627
♪ ♪
00:29:14.628 --> 00:29:16.712
- They tried to discredit us.
00:29:16.713 --> 00:29:17.631
You know, \"These guys are
criminals.
00:29:17.714 --> 00:29:19.298
They\'re being arrested.\"
00:29:19.299 --> 00:29:21.092
So that\'s the image that people
would get
00:29:21.093 --> 00:29:22.426
in the community.
00:29:22.427 --> 00:29:28.557
♪ ♪
00:29:28.558 --> 00:29:33.187
[indistinct shouting]
00:29:33.188 --> 00:29:36.524
- The police department\'s Gang
Intelligence Unit...
00:29:36.525 --> 00:29:39.778
The unit that I was in formed a
Panther Squad.
00:29:41.154 --> 00:29:43.364
We were at this particular
rally.
00:29:43.365 --> 00:29:45.282
Some kind of way, the grumbling
was,
00:29:45.283 --> 00:29:47.868
\"There\'s a lot of pigs in here,\"
you know?
00:29:47.869 --> 00:29:50.037
So from the front of the room,
00:29:50.038 --> 00:29:52.832
Fred Hampton said, \"Will the
pigs please leave?\"
00:29:52.833 --> 00:29:53.958
[laughs]
00:29:53.959 --> 00:29:55.501
So about six people got up
00:29:55.502 --> 00:29:57.795
and we all kind of eyeballed
each other in there,
00:29:57.796 --> 00:30:02.509
scattered out, then we started
to talk amongst ourselves.
00:30:03.176 --> 00:30:05.261
What this mind-set was
00:30:05.262 --> 00:30:07.973
and how threatening was it
really
00:30:08.265 --> 00:30:10.392
to just everyday police work?
00:30:10.684 --> 00:30:11.518
And it wasn\'t.
00:30:11.519 --> 00:30:14.061
It was a threat to misconduct.
It really was.
00:30:14.062 --> 00:30:16.021
[dreamy ambient music]
00:30:16.022 --> 00:30:21.986
♪ ♪
00:30:21.987 --> 00:30:24.572
- Counterintelligence Program,
00:30:24.573 --> 00:30:28.117
it was spying on groups to
disrupt forces
00:30:28.118 --> 00:30:31.287
that we found objectionable.
00:30:31.288 --> 00:30:33.122
That\'s what we did.
00:30:33.123 --> 00:30:34.623
We...
00:30:34.624 --> 00:30:36.792
a good word is neutralize.
00:30:36.793 --> 00:30:40.713
♪ ♪
00:30:40.714 --> 00:30:42.757
Black Panthers, you know, all
these groups,
00:30:42.758 --> 00:30:44.633
they were the enemy.
00:30:44.634 --> 00:30:46.595
♪ ♪
00:30:46.928 --> 00:30:48.888
There was a mind-set,
00:30:48.889 --> 00:30:51.515
we were gonna lose the
country, you know?
00:30:51.516 --> 00:30:54.143
It\'s us versus them and we
worked with the police.
00:30:54.144 --> 00:30:57.062
We all generally thought the
same way.
00:30:57.063 --> 00:31:00.942
♪ ♪
00:31:01.568 --> 00:31:03.361
- There\'s been a glorification
00:31:03.695 --> 00:31:05.404
of this gang structure
00:31:05.405 --> 00:31:07.114
and that\'s why it\'s so serious
today.
00:31:07.115 --> 00:31:09.326
Here\'s the state\'s attorney. He
can...
00:31:09.618 --> 00:31:11.952
- Hanrahan was very tight with
Mayor Daley.
00:31:11.953 --> 00:31:13.954
He was one of his cronies.
00:31:13.955 --> 00:31:15.664
He wanted to destroy us.
00:31:15.665 --> 00:31:19.293
He declared a war on gangs.
00:31:19.294 --> 00:31:22.380
- They are brutalizing their own
neighbors.
00:31:22.756 --> 00:31:24.006
- They were not criminals
00:31:24.007 --> 00:31:26.383
even though the Chicago Police
Department
00:31:26.384 --> 00:31:28.594
lumped them together with street
gangs.
00:31:28.595 --> 00:31:31.222
It allowed the police
department to chase them
00:31:31.223 --> 00:31:33.474
as if they were gang members.
00:31:33.475 --> 00:31:37.437
[discordant ambient music]
00:31:37.646 --> 00:31:41.524
- Reverend Johnson has made an
offer about the first...
00:31:41.525 --> 00:31:43.943
- Reverend Bruce Johnson was
the pastor of the church
00:31:43.944 --> 00:31:47.030
that became the headquarters
of the Young Lords.
00:31:47.322 --> 00:31:48.614
- We do not consider it a youth
gang.
00:31:48.615 --> 00:31:50.992
We consider it a viable
community organization.
00:31:51.326 --> 00:31:53.702
- We began working immediately
with the church.
00:31:53.703 --> 00:31:56.831
- And we\'re already begun taking
in applications
00:31:56.832 --> 00:31:57.998
for children... for the
children\'s center.
00:31:57.999 --> 00:32:02.045
- Now the city of Chicago
began attacking the reverend
00:32:02.254 --> 00:32:04.171
like they were attacking the
Young Lords
00:32:04.172 --> 00:32:07.424
and they began fining him $200 a
day
00:32:07.425 --> 00:32:11.262
every day that the Young Lords
remained at the church.
00:32:11.263 --> 00:32:14.974
All we wanted was to get some
help for our community.
00:32:14.975 --> 00:32:18.979
[suspenseful music]
00:32:19.563 --> 00:32:21.856
- In the Gang Intelligence Unit,
our unit,
00:32:21.857 --> 00:32:24.108
this is all gang crime stuff.
00:32:24.109 --> 00:32:25.985
They went in where the people
00:32:25.986 --> 00:32:26.945
were doing the breakfast
program,
00:32:26.946 --> 00:32:30.447
busted eggs out of the
refrigerator on the walls.
00:32:30.448 --> 00:32:33.660
They poured flour and bust
eggs in the flour.
00:32:33.952 --> 00:32:37.413
They unnecessarily set back
something
00:32:37.414 --> 00:32:39.875
that was a legitimate breakfast
program.
00:32:39.958 --> 00:32:41.834
But that dry run they were so
frustrated
00:32:41.835 --> 00:32:43.752
because of who they were
looking for
00:32:43.753 --> 00:32:45.505
was not there that day.
00:32:46.423 --> 00:32:49.091
And that was the day I decided
00:32:49.092 --> 00:32:50.551
that I didn\'t want to be in that
unit anymore.
00:32:50.552 --> 00:32:52.595
♪ ♪
00:32:52.596 --> 00:32:54.763
- The reason why we haven\'t been
able
00:32:54.764 --> 00:32:56.432
to open a day care center is
because the city
00:32:56.433 --> 00:33:00.311
has found ridiculous violations
in the buildings
00:33:00.312 --> 00:33:03.147
such as the floor is too low or
the ceiling is too high.
00:33:03.148 --> 00:33:06.191
They knew that we were going
to begin to get
00:33:06.192 --> 00:33:07.943
a lot more support from the
community
00:33:07.944 --> 00:33:09.111
and the only way that they
could stop us
00:33:09.112 --> 00:33:11.488
was by using bureaucracy.
00:33:11.489 --> 00:33:13.240
I think that they should also
00:33:13.241 --> 00:33:14.783
look around in some of those
apartments
00:33:14.784 --> 00:33:17.077
where the children will have
to stay,
00:33:17.078 --> 00:33:19.164
you know, where they are
getting lead poisoning,
00:33:19.623 --> 00:33:20.248
and not in a church
00:33:20.249 --> 00:33:23.083
where we are trying to take
care of them.
00:33:23.084 --> 00:33:24.877
[siren wails]
00:33:24.878 --> 00:33:26.795
- It turned out to be a very
powerful coalition.
00:33:26.796 --> 00:33:28.714
It was kind of making them
look bad.
00:33:28.715 --> 00:33:32.217
♪ ♪
00:33:32.218 --> 00:33:36.348
- We hear constantly the
attack on the establishment
00:33:37.223 --> 00:33:39.934
as though it is some invisible
force
00:33:39.935 --> 00:33:43.812
that does nothing good for the
community and for the country.
00:33:43.813 --> 00:33:46.607
I have no apology to make to
anyone for our country.
00:33:46.608 --> 00:33:47.525
- To a great extent,
00:33:47.526 --> 00:33:50.194
I think Daley was simply unable
to understand
00:33:50.195 --> 00:33:53.113
a lot of the societal changes at
that time.
00:33:53.114 --> 00:33:56.993
♪ ♪
00:33:57.327 --> 00:34:02.999
Perplexed, frustrated, he fell
back on repression.
00:34:03.500 --> 00:34:08.546
♪ ♪
00:34:09.965 --> 00:34:12.383
- This three-day conference
may well be the turning point
00:34:12.384 --> 00:34:14.176
for what has up to this point
00:34:14.177 --> 00:34:16.387
been an increasing but loosely
organized
00:34:16.388 --> 00:34:18.013
revolutionary phenomenon
00:34:18.014 --> 00:34:20.432
that will probably streamline
and solidify
00:34:20.433 --> 00:34:23.395
what is now called \"The
Movement.\"
00:34:24.062 --> 00:34:27.272
- Now, we come from Chi-town.
00:34:27.273 --> 00:34:29.984
We come from a monster.
00:34:29.985 --> 00:34:32.236
We come from a monster.
00:34:32.237 --> 00:34:34.697
And the jaws of the monster...
00:34:34.698 --> 00:34:36.533
in Chicago
00:34:37.033 --> 00:34:38.785
are grinding up the flesh...
00:34:40.662 --> 00:34:42.956
and spitting out the blood
00:34:43.748 --> 00:34:46.166
of the poor and oppressed
people,
00:34:46.167 --> 00:34:50.463
blacks in the South Side, West
Side,
00:34:52.173 --> 00:34:55.093
and the browns on the North Side
00:34:55.719 --> 00:34:58.303
and the reds and the yellows
00:34:58.304 --> 00:35:00.973
and, yes, the whites.
00:35:00.974 --> 00:35:04.436
♪ ♪
00:35:04.894 --> 00:35:07.104
And we got together, the Young
Lords
00:35:07.105 --> 00:35:08.480
and the Young Patriots
00:35:08.481 --> 00:35:09.898
and the Black Panther Party in
Illinois,
00:35:09.899 --> 00:35:12.944
and we said, \"Now, what are we
gonna do?\"
00:35:13.153 --> 00:35:14.528
And we said...
00:35:14.529 --> 00:35:17.573
\"We\'re gonna intensify the
struggle, mother[bleep].\"
00:35:17.574 --> 00:35:19.743
[cheers and applause]
00:35:24.414 --> 00:35:26.749
- I was in the hole in Double
Lock,
00:35:26.750 --> 00:35:29.294
which is where they usually
put me in the jail.
00:35:30.962 --> 00:35:33.172
The warden of the jail came
00:35:33.173 --> 00:35:35.049
and he took me to his apartment
00:35:35.050 --> 00:35:36.050
and he put the TV on.
00:35:36.634 --> 00:35:39.678
- This being the first Sunday
since the Reverend
00:35:39.679 --> 00:35:42.056
and Mrs. Bruce Johnson were
murdered...
00:35:42.057 --> 00:35:46.603
- He was stabbed 17 times and
his wife 9 times
00:35:46.978 --> 00:35:50.273
because he wanted to work with
the Young Lords.
00:35:52.358 --> 00:35:55.278
I believe that\'s why he was
killed.
00:35:55.904 --> 00:35:56.988
[gun cocking]
00:35:58.698 --> 00:36:01.159
- We\'re praying that Hanrahan
leads the charge.
00:36:02.786 --> 00:36:06.164
- Before a raid, the police
would hit the field...
00:36:07.332 --> 00:36:08.249
[siren wails]
00:36:08.250 --> 00:36:09.833
Start arresting people.
00:36:09.834 --> 00:36:11.293
[tires squealing]
00:36:11.294 --> 00:36:13.129
The postman\'s face would change.
00:36:13.755 --> 00:36:15.715
You knew they were coming.
00:36:15.882 --> 00:36:19.551
I would be lying if I said that
we wasn\'t afraid.
00:36:19.552 --> 00:36:22.012
- I tried, man, but I just wish
they would come tonight.
00:36:22.013 --> 00:36:23.514
- Yeah, well, I want them to
come.
00:36:23.515 --> 00:36:24.307
- Hey, man, who was that?
00:36:24.308 --> 00:36:27.392
♪ ♪
00:36:27.393 --> 00:36:30.104
- We had two attacks on our
office.
00:36:30.105 --> 00:36:32.523
- We wasn\'t raided this time. We
were attacked, man.
00:36:32.524 --> 00:36:34.984
You can look at the windows,
man.
00:36:35.819 --> 00:36:37.402
- Was there a fire in the, uh...
00:36:37.403 --> 00:36:39.405
- They set a fire after they got
through.
00:36:42.492 --> 00:36:44.076
♪ ♪
00:36:44.077 --> 00:36:46.996
- November, Spurgeon Jake
Winters
00:36:48.164 --> 00:36:49.706
got into a shoot-out
00:36:49.707 --> 00:36:51.708
on South Side with the police.
00:36:51.709 --> 00:36:53.002
And, uh...
00:36:58.383 --> 00:36:59.384
They...
00:37:00.677 --> 00:37:03.846
He shot two police, who died,
and they...
00:37:03.847 --> 00:37:05.515
shot him about 1,000 times.
00:37:07.934 --> 00:37:10.937
So you have those type of
developments going on,
00:37:11.354 --> 00:37:12.438
it\'s difficult to have
00:37:12.772 --> 00:37:14.607
not only an organization but a
coalition.
00:37:16.234 --> 00:37:17.693
You know?
00:37:17.694 --> 00:37:19.863
♪ ♪
00:37:20.029 --> 00:37:23.574
- The police were harder on us
when we were political
00:37:23.575 --> 00:37:25.242
than when we were in a gang.
00:37:25.243 --> 00:37:26.368
If we were in a gang, we would
be picked up
00:37:26.369 --> 00:37:29.372
on a Friday, released Monday.
00:37:29.497 --> 00:37:30.456
When we were political,
00:37:30.457 --> 00:37:32.708
they were talking about life
in jail.
00:37:32.709 --> 00:37:34.459
Yeah, I think that the issue
here
00:37:34.460 --> 00:37:36.253
is that judges and the state\'s
attorney
00:37:36.254 --> 00:37:37.963
have been working with the GI
Unit and everyone else
00:37:37.964 --> 00:37:41.425
to try to suppress the Young
Lords organization
00:37:41.426 --> 00:37:42.634
who are trying to speak out.
00:37:42.635 --> 00:37:44.511
You know, we\'re a poor
organization.
00:37:44.512 --> 00:37:46.139
I had 18 charges on me.
00:37:47.098 --> 00:37:48.308
They were all felonies
00:37:48.641 --> 00:37:50.727
for mob action and other
demonstrations.
00:37:51.603 --> 00:37:53.353
Basically lived at the
courthouse,
00:37:53.354 --> 00:37:56.315
and so did Chairman Fred Hampton
00:37:56.316 --> 00:37:57.357
and some of the other
leadership.
00:37:57.358 --> 00:37:59.651
[gospel choir singing]
00:37:59.652 --> 00:38:02.446
- And why they want to get rid
of me?
00:38:02.447 --> 00:38:03.864
Because I\'m saying something
that might wake up
00:38:03.865 --> 00:38:05.532
some other exploited people or
some other oppressed people,
00:38:05.533 --> 00:38:07.826
and if all these people ever get
together,
00:38:07.827 --> 00:38:09.703
then these pigs that are
exploiting us,
00:38:09.704 --> 00:38:11.371
we\'ll be able to run them into
the lake.
00:38:11.372 --> 00:38:12.248
That\'s why they want to get rid
of us.
00:38:12.249 --> 00:38:14.583
[gospel choir singing]
00:38:14.584 --> 00:38:16.710
- We went to jail together.
00:38:16.711 --> 00:38:18.712
They put us in the same hole
00:38:18.713 --> 00:38:20.422
to segregate us from the rest
of the population.
00:38:20.423 --> 00:38:22.674
They were afraid that we would
00:38:22.675 --> 00:38:25.386
organize the rest of the jail
population.
00:38:26.554 --> 00:38:31.183
- I\'m out on appeal for a
trumped-up robbery
00:38:31.184 --> 00:38:35.312
and we got around nine people
still locked up in jail.
00:38:35.313 --> 00:38:37.105
It\'s not a question of
nonviolence or violence.
00:38:37.106 --> 00:38:39.733
The question is between
resistance to this fascism
00:38:39.734 --> 00:38:42.402
or even nonexistence within
fascism.
00:38:42.403 --> 00:38:44.947
♪ ♪
00:38:44.948 --> 00:38:47.032
- COINTELPRO...
00:38:47.033 --> 00:38:50.495
One of the aspects of that
program
00:38:51.204 --> 00:38:53.789
was to prevent the rise
00:38:53.790 --> 00:38:56.541
of what they call a \"messiah\"
00:38:56.542 --> 00:39:01.672
that could have the ability and
charisma
00:39:01.673 --> 00:39:04.633
to bring together and to further
empower groups.
00:39:04.634 --> 00:39:06.593
- We say all power to all
people.
00:39:06.594 --> 00:39:08.512
All: All power to all people.
00:39:08.513 --> 00:39:10.264
- We say white power to white
people.
00:39:10.265 --> 00:39:11.598
All: White power to white
people.
00:39:11.599 --> 00:39:12.933
- Brown power to brown people.
00:39:12.934 --> 00:39:14.518
All: Brown power to brown
people.
00:39:14.519 --> 00:39:15.769
- Yellow power to yellow people.
00:39:15.770 --> 00:39:17.130
All: Yellow power to yellow
people.
00:39:17.230 --> 00:39:18.855
- Black power to black people.
00:39:18.856 --> 00:39:20.357
All: Black power to black
people.
00:39:20.358 --> 00:39:22.694
- X power for those of you left
out.
00:39:22.944 --> 00:39:24.904
All: X power for those left
out.
00:39:33.538 --> 00:39:34.746
- The 20-year-old chairman
00:39:34.747 --> 00:39:37.207
of the Illinois Black Panther
Party, Fred Hampton,
00:39:37.208 --> 00:39:39.876
was shot and killed in a predawn
shoot-out
00:39:39.877 --> 00:39:43.088
with state\'s attorney\'s police
in his West Side apartment.
00:39:43.089 --> 00:39:44.298
Another party member,
00:39:44.299 --> 00:39:46.133
22-year-old Mark Clark of
Peoria,
00:39:46.134 --> 00:39:48.094
also died in the shoot-out.
00:39:48.344 --> 00:39:51.597
- Chicago police, COINTELPRO,
00:39:52.390 --> 00:39:53.599
Red Squad,
00:39:54.058 --> 00:39:56.351
they were all collectively
responsible
00:39:56.352 --> 00:39:58.812
for the murder of Fred Hampton
and Mark Clark
00:39:58.813 --> 00:40:00.856
and the wounding of others.
00:40:00.857 --> 00:40:03.026
- Chicago police took \'em out.
00:40:04.527 --> 00:40:05.194
If they didn\'t want you around,
00:40:05.195 --> 00:40:06.696
you weren\'t gonna be around.
00:40:07.488 --> 00:40:09.824
And that\'s the way it worked
back then,
00:40:10.116 --> 00:40:11.909
and it was scary.
00:40:12.744 --> 00:40:16.122
I went home and got my gun out,
and I sat there.
00:40:17.165 --> 00:40:18.374
I sat there and waited.
00:40:19.417 --> 00:40:21.543
I didn\'t know what the next move
was gonna be.
00:40:21.544 --> 00:40:22.544
Nobody did.
00:40:23.004 --> 00:40:27.257
- When Fred Hampton was killed
around 4:00 in the morning,
00:40:27.258 --> 00:40:28.592
they were calling us.
00:40:28.593 --> 00:40:30.135
That\'s when I found out about it
00:40:30.136 --> 00:40:34.306
and we took a group to the
apartment.
00:40:34.307 --> 00:40:37.642
People from all over the city
came to be witnesses
00:40:37.643 --> 00:40:41.564
in case the police came back
to remove any items.
00:40:41.856 --> 00:40:44.775
[dramatic orchestral music]
00:40:44.776 --> 00:40:52.776
♪ ♪
00:40:59.999 --> 00:41:03.335
- Government couldn\'t make him
and couldn\'t destroy him.
00:41:03.336 --> 00:41:05.504
They shot him and he multiplied.
00:41:05.505 --> 00:41:08.049
- I recall Jesse Jackson
speaking.
00:41:09.258 --> 00:41:10.425
- More than we need mourning...
00:41:10.426 --> 00:41:13.845
- I tried to... tried to not
show any emotion,
00:41:13.846 --> 00:41:16.474
act like a macho.
00:41:17.308 --> 00:41:18.308
- Fred...
00:41:19.185 --> 00:41:21.020
this is a good way to go.
00:41:21.437 --> 00:41:22.479
- When he finished,
00:41:22.480 --> 00:41:25.065
I just couldn\'t hold it anymore.
00:41:25.066 --> 00:41:27.443
I just went into tears.
00:41:28.945 --> 00:41:32.073
A lot of people underestimated
what the government would do
00:41:32.407 --> 00:41:37.370
to oppress a real, true poor
people\'s movement.
00:41:38.579 --> 00:41:42.417
- And what did he do? He formed
coalitions.
00:41:43.835 --> 00:41:45.335
That\'s what he did.
00:41:45.336 --> 00:41:49.464
- I am personally grieved over
the death of Fred Hampton
00:41:49.465 --> 00:41:53.344
because he was a personal friend
of mine.
00:41:53.594 --> 00:41:56.054
So it is that those who are
symbolic
00:41:56.055 --> 00:41:57.974
of challenging America\'s
injustice
00:41:58.474 --> 00:42:02.227
tend to have to die unless we
make a real radical
00:42:02.228 --> 00:42:04.396
and revolutionary change in this
society.
00:42:04.397 --> 00:42:07.942
- They sprayed this wall with
.30-caliber machine gun fire.
00:42:08.609 --> 00:42:12.112
They shot people who were on
the bed asleep.
00:42:12.113 --> 00:42:15.241
[tense music]
00:42:15.408 --> 00:42:17.742
- The physical appearance of
this apartment
00:42:17.743 --> 00:42:20.496
does not reveal any shooting
out.
00:42:20.788 --> 00:42:22.415
It reveals shooting in.
00:42:22.915 --> 00:42:25.209
- All indications to me,
personally,
00:42:25.418 --> 00:42:28.379
that this was obviously a
political assassination.
00:42:29.255 --> 00:42:30.255
- By whom? - By whom?
00:42:31.215 --> 00:42:32.924
- Who was there? - Ordered by
whom?
00:42:32.925 --> 00:42:34.260
- I have no idea.
00:42:34.719 --> 00:42:37.263
Who does the state\'s attorney
get their orders from?
00:42:37.638 --> 00:42:41.976
These bumbling police officers
that carried that out,
00:42:42.643 --> 00:42:43.894
I don\'t even think they thought
00:42:43.895 --> 00:42:45.055
they were committing a crime.
00:42:45.313 --> 00:42:48.523
I think they thought they could
get away with murdering people.
00:42:48.524 --> 00:42:49.858
♪ ♪
00:42:49.859 --> 00:42:51.568
- Witnesses who have seen the
apartment
00:42:51.569 --> 00:42:54.154
say there is no evidence of
bullets
00:42:54.155 --> 00:42:58.284
from the direction where the
Panthers supposedly were to be.
00:42:58.910 --> 00:42:59.869
- I said that
00:42:59.870 --> 00:43:03.288
after our officers announced
their purpose
00:43:03.289 --> 00:43:06.000
and their station several times,
00:43:06.167 --> 00:43:08.336
they were fired upon from
within the room.
00:43:09.295 --> 00:43:11.796
- Hanrahan, a good Irishman like
that,
00:43:11.797 --> 00:43:14.466
I\'m on his side. [chuckles]
00:43:14.467 --> 00:43:15.468
Regardless.
00:43:16.177 --> 00:43:18.513
My kind of guy, that was the
thought.
00:43:19.764 --> 00:43:22.725
These are bad guys, they\'re
after us,
00:43:23.434 --> 00:43:26.395
they\'re hoodlums, and they\'re
fair game.
00:43:28.523 --> 00:43:29.899
- They knew exactly what they
were doing, you know.
00:43:30.274 --> 00:43:31.942
They weren\'t killing Fred
Hampton, you know.
00:43:31.943 --> 00:43:33.402
They were killing the whole
movement.
00:43:34.529 --> 00:43:38.115
[ethereal ambient music]
00:43:38.533 --> 00:43:40.534
- People were confused. There
was chaos.
00:43:40.535 --> 00:43:41.743
People didn\'t know which way to
go.
00:43:41.744 --> 00:43:44.455
People began to turn on each
other.
00:43:46.165 --> 00:43:48.667
And it forced us as an
organization
00:43:48.668 --> 00:43:50.878
to completely go underground.
00:43:51.170 --> 00:43:54.340
♪ ♪
00:43:54.507 --> 00:43:58.177
- If Cha Cha is underground,
Fred dead,
00:43:58.469 --> 00:44:01.389
they created the nexus.
00:44:02.723 --> 00:44:06.434
So it was a down time, man. It
was bad.
00:44:06.435 --> 00:44:09.813
[train creaking]
00:44:09.814 --> 00:44:14.193
♪ ♪
00:44:14.944 --> 00:44:17.238
- All of us had to go on our
own separate ways.
00:44:17.738 --> 00:44:21.617
♪ ♪
00:44:23.286 --> 00:44:25.579
I had gone back to my hometown
00:44:25.580 --> 00:44:27.873
and had gotten harassed there.
00:44:28.583 --> 00:44:30.710
They considered me to be a
communist.
00:44:32.753 --> 00:44:36.047
It always followed us around
everywhere we were.
00:44:36.048 --> 00:44:38.467
♪ ♪
00:44:38.759 --> 00:44:40.051
- Everybody was losing contact.
00:44:40.052 --> 00:44:42.763
Everybody was spreading all
over the country.
00:44:43.556 --> 00:44:45.975
A lot of areas were displaced,
you know, gentrified,
00:44:46.726 --> 00:44:47.560
so people had to move,
00:44:47.561 --> 00:44:50.354
so we lost contact for many
years.
00:44:51.314 --> 00:44:54.775
Bit by bit, we were regaining
some of the contacts back.
00:44:54.984 --> 00:44:58.154
♪ ♪
00:44:59.780 --> 00:45:01.574
- I talked to Bobby Lee.
00:45:02.199 --> 00:45:04.744
He was telling me that he just
doesn\'t feel very good.
00:45:05.953 --> 00:45:07.246
He called me... [sniffles]
00:45:08.414 --> 00:45:11.125
A couple of days and said he
had...
00:45:12.084 --> 00:45:13.127
cancer...
00:45:15.046 --> 00:45:17.840
and that he was...
00:45:19.300 --> 00:45:20.635
he\'s not gonna take any chemo.
00:45:22.553 --> 00:45:25.598
And that\'s why I knew I had to
come, you know, here.
00:45:26.474 --> 00:45:29.559
- How you doing, Mr. Panther?
00:45:29.560 --> 00:45:31.895
- Good to see you, my brother.
- Hy Thurman!
00:45:31.896 --> 00:45:33.147
- Yeah, you too.
00:45:33.814 --> 00:45:35.274
Man, it\'s good to see you.
00:45:36.150 --> 00:45:38.401
- Who would dream that you and I
would be together today?
00:45:38.402 --> 00:45:40.111
- Yeah, I don\'t know.
00:45:40.112 --> 00:45:43.282
And Cha Cha coming behind,
Rainbow Coalition Part 2.
00:45:44.033 --> 00:45:46.494
- Mr. Robert E. Lee, sir.
[laughs]
00:45:47.453 --> 00:45:48.703
- You know?
00:45:48.704 --> 00:45:50.414
Hey, brother. - Love and peace
to you, man.
00:45:51.374 --> 00:45:52.333
[chuckles]
00:45:52.334 --> 00:45:54.377
- All power to the people, man.
00:45:54.627 --> 00:45:56.044
- Oh, man. - This is it, oh,
yeah.
00:45:56.045 --> 00:45:58.838
- How Fred would say it, you can
kill a revolutionary
00:45:58.839 --> 00:46:01.175
but you can\'t kill a revolution.
00:46:02.259 --> 00:46:03.426
- And we\'re an example of that.
00:46:03.427 --> 00:46:05.345
Both: All power to the people.
00:46:05.346 --> 00:46:06.846
- Faiza. - Yeah?
00:46:06.847 --> 00:46:08.474
- These are the warriors. -
Mm-hmm.
00:46:09.475 --> 00:46:11.268
You know, they\'re in the room. -
Mm-hmm.
00:46:13.229 --> 00:46:13.979
- You know,
00:46:14.188 --> 00:46:17.233
you have white Panthers and you
have black Panthers.
00:46:17.400 --> 00:46:18.817
- You have Puerto Rican Panthers
too.
00:46:18.818 --> 00:46:20.152
They\'re just called Young Lords.
00:46:20.695 --> 00:46:22.862
- Yeah. - They\'re just a
subsidiary.
00:46:22.863 --> 00:46:23.905
[laughter]
00:46:23.906 --> 00:46:24.365
- That\'s right.
00:46:24.740 --> 00:46:27.325
- We didn\'t know that we were
gonna be lifelong friends,
00:46:27.326 --> 00:46:30.245
but we\'ve ended up being
lifelong friends.
00:46:30.246 --> 00:46:35.835
♪ ♪
00:46:37.378 --> 00:46:38.254
- We\'re leaving pretty soon.
00:46:38.255 --> 00:46:39.838
I just wanted to know,
00:46:39.839 --> 00:46:43.217
what do you want me and other
people to remember?
00:46:44.427 --> 00:46:47.053
- Just keep serving the people,
man.
00:46:47.054 --> 00:46:50.224
You know, for just three or four
hours a day,
00:46:52.435 --> 00:46:54.102
You know, like my mom would say,
00:46:54.103 --> 00:46:56.105
\"Save your own soul, son.
00:46:56.814 --> 00:46:58.649
Do something for somebody.\"
00:47:00.276 --> 00:47:02.820
And that\'s pretty much how
simple it is, man.
00:47:06.824 --> 00:47:10.201
- He didn\'t really see skin
color.
00:47:10.202 --> 00:47:11.828
He saw more of the people
inside,
00:47:11.829 --> 00:47:14.247
the power that people could have
00:47:14.248 --> 00:47:16.584
to unite and to love each other,
00:47:17.585 --> 00:47:19.170
and that\'s what he wanted.
00:47:20.588 --> 00:47:21.588
[deep ominous music]
00:47:21.589 --> 00:47:22.964
- It was a display of violence
00:47:22.965 --> 00:47:23.507
that caused a state of emergency
00:47:23.508 --> 00:47:25.634
to be issued in Virginia.
00:47:26.343 --> 00:47:28.803
- Now the same white
nationalist group plans
00:47:28.804 --> 00:47:31.514
to hold two rallies right here
in middle Tennessee.
00:47:31.515 --> 00:47:33.433
♪ ♪
00:47:33.434 --> 00:47:36.353
- This must be the area that
they\'re coming from over here.
00:47:36.687 --> 00:47:38.605
I think that\'s the checkpoint
00:47:38.606 --> 00:47:40.983
of the Nazis and the white
supremacists there.
00:47:44.653 --> 00:47:47.864
♪ ♪
00:47:47.865 --> 00:47:49.616
- Tell me what democracy looks
like!
00:47:49.617 --> 00:47:51.785
All: This is what democracy
looks like!
00:47:51.786 --> 00:47:53.369
- Tell me what diversity looks
like!
00:47:53.370 --> 00:47:55.246
All: This is what diversity
looks like!
00:47:55.247 --> 00:47:57.958
All: White lives matter! White
lives matter!
00:47:58.834 --> 00:47:59.876
- The Young Patriots in Chicago
00:47:59.877 --> 00:48:02.546
discontinued the use of the
Confederate flag.
00:48:04.048 --> 00:48:05.924
We got into the Rainbow
Coalition,
00:48:05.925 --> 00:48:07.884
we had to take a completely
different look
00:48:07.885 --> 00:48:09.804
at the meaning of that flag.
00:48:10.805 --> 00:48:12.722
After a point, we thought
00:48:12.723 --> 00:48:15.726
there\'s no use for that flag
here anymore.
00:48:16.519 --> 00:48:20.355
What that flag really stands
for is hate.
00:48:20.356 --> 00:48:24.025
[wind howling]
00:48:24.026 --> 00:48:25.944
♪ ♪
00:48:25.945 --> 00:48:29.657
[train clattering]
00:48:32.076 --> 00:48:36.789
- On December 4, 1972, I ended
up turning myself in,
00:48:37.373 --> 00:48:40.292
which was the date Fred Hampton
was killed.
00:48:41.293 --> 00:48:43.837
Intentionally turned myself in
00:48:43.838 --> 00:48:46.841
to let people know that the
reason I was coming back
00:48:47.424 --> 00:48:51.052
was to continue our movement,
the Rainbow Coalition.
00:48:51.053 --> 00:48:52.929
[heartening ambient music]
00:48:52.930 --> 00:48:54.639
- We didn\'t think that elections
00:48:54.640 --> 00:48:56.474
were gonna give us revolution,
00:48:56.475 --> 00:49:00.104
but we saw it as a tool to
continue the struggle.
00:49:01.105 --> 00:49:02.897
My campaign for alderman
00:49:02.898 --> 00:49:05.943
was used as an organizing
vehicle for change.
00:49:06.235 --> 00:49:08.236
♪ ♪
00:49:08.237 --> 00:49:09.988
- We did voter registration
drives.
00:49:09.989 --> 00:49:13.367
That was the first time that
many Latinos were voting.
00:49:15.077 --> 00:49:19.038
- Hanrahan, he was on the
ballot to run for reelection.
00:49:19.039 --> 00:49:20.623
♪ ♪
00:49:20.624 --> 00:49:22.417
Members of the Rainbow Coalition
00:49:22.418 --> 00:49:25.253
circulated petitions asking
for people
00:49:25.254 --> 00:49:27.255
to make a commitment of
conscience,
00:49:27.256 --> 00:49:30.842
to remember that he had been
behind the murder
00:49:30.843 --> 00:49:33.219
of Fred Hampton and Mark Clark.
00:49:33.220 --> 00:49:35.263
- The entire black community
revolted
00:49:35.264 --> 00:49:38.725
and voted for a Republican
state\'s attorney.
00:49:38.726 --> 00:49:41.728
- There\'s nothing I hate worse
than defeat, Bob,
00:49:41.729 --> 00:49:42.854
uh...
00:49:42.855 --> 00:49:45.607
but you can\'t, uh... you can\'t,
uh,
00:49:45.608 --> 00:49:48.276
roll over and cry.
00:49:48.277 --> 00:49:51.946
- That began a fracturing of
the grip
00:49:51.947 --> 00:49:55.575
that the machine held on the
community.
00:49:55.576 --> 00:49:58.077
It was the last of the big city
machines
00:49:58.078 --> 00:50:00.747
to be cracked in any way.
00:50:00.748 --> 00:50:03.374
- When the curtain comes down,
00:50:03.375 --> 00:50:05.293
and it\'s bound to someday,
00:50:05.294 --> 00:50:08.087
I\'ll just say I did the best I
could.
00:50:08.088 --> 00:50:11.633
[train creaking and clattering]
00:50:11.634 --> 00:50:14.802
♪ ♪
00:50:14.803 --> 00:50:17.597
- That concept of the Rainbow
Coalition,
00:50:17.598 --> 00:50:20.016
it brought a lot of people
together.
00:50:20.017 --> 00:50:23.353
The concept helped elect Harold
Washington
00:50:23.354 --> 00:50:24.604
mayor of Chicago.
00:50:24.605 --> 00:50:29.317
- Blacks, whites, Hispanics
00:50:29.318 --> 00:50:33.155
have joined hands to form a new
Democratic coalition.
00:50:33.864 --> 00:50:37.618
- The Rainbow Coalition, it
presented a possibility.
00:50:37.868 --> 00:50:41.413
You know, it gave us a vision
for what could be
00:50:42.498 --> 00:50:45.542
in terms of interracial
politics.
00:50:46.085 --> 00:50:49.253
- Our flag is red, white, and
blue,
00:50:49.254 --> 00:50:51.714
but our nation is rainbow.
00:50:51.715 --> 00:50:53.550
Red, yellow, brown, black, and
white.
00:50:53.676 --> 00:50:56.344
- They are the members of what
Jesse Jackson calls
00:50:56.345 --> 00:50:57.762
his Rainbow Coalition.
00:50:57.763 --> 00:51:01.809
- The idea of the rainbow, I
think that was a beautiful,
00:51:02.226 --> 00:51:05.395
beautiful notion of repudiating
racism,
00:51:05.396 --> 00:51:08.439
that groups could acknowledge
their common problems
00:51:08.440 --> 00:51:11.234
despite the huge legacy
00:51:11.235 --> 00:51:15.905
of racial antagonism and
racial hostility
00:51:15.906 --> 00:51:18.074
that existed in a place like
Chicago.
00:51:18.075 --> 00:51:19.075
It\'s phenomenal.
00:51:19.368 --> 00:51:23.413
- I think that the time will
come when the people themselves
00:51:23.414 --> 00:51:26.582
will take the power that belongs
to them
00:51:26.583 --> 00:51:27.625
into their hands and move.
00:51:27.626 --> 00:51:32.297
Racial profiling has to stop,
Mr. Speaker.
00:51:33.215 --> 00:51:36.801
Just because someone wears a
hoodie
00:51:36.802 --> 00:51:40.388
does not make them a hoodlum.
00:51:40.389 --> 00:51:44.308
- Barack Obama came to Chicago
00:51:44.309 --> 00:51:47.311
because he heard about the
rainbow politics
00:51:47.312 --> 00:51:49.063
and Harold Washington.
00:51:49.064 --> 00:51:50.106
♪ ♪
00:51:50.107 --> 00:51:53.068
- I think, at the time, we had
some romantic notion
00:51:54.570 --> 00:51:57.113
of what the revolution would be.
00:51:57.114 --> 00:51:58.699
Clearly that didn\'t happen,
00:51:59.158 --> 00:52:04.163
but that doesn\'t mean that we
didn\'t revolutionize society.
00:52:04.705 --> 00:52:08.207
It\'s still in the psychic
memory of people in Chicago.
00:52:08.208 --> 00:52:11.419
We still have the hope that we
can come back together
00:52:11.420 --> 00:52:13.838
and fight to change things.
00:52:13.839 --> 00:52:14.715
♪ ♪
00:52:14.716 --> 00:52:16.007
- They didn\'t beat us.
00:52:16.008 --> 00:52:17.676
I don\'t want nobody to think
that.
00:52:18.427 --> 00:52:19.719
They didn\'t beat us.
00:52:19.720 --> 00:52:21.722
We did what we set out to do.
00:52:22.181 --> 00:52:24.224
We made a better community.
00:52:25.309 --> 00:52:29.813
- The Rainbow Coalition gave
voice to the voiceless,
00:52:29.938 --> 00:52:34.860
and their activism demonstrated
that ordinary people
00:52:35.944 --> 00:52:38.863
can change society through
collective action.
00:52:38.864 --> 00:52:41.824
♪ ♪
00:52:41.825 --> 00:52:45.828
- Today many of the cities are
facing the same issues
00:52:45.829 --> 00:52:47.997
of housing, of police brutality,
00:52:47.998 --> 00:52:49.916
of poor health care.
00:52:49.917 --> 00:52:52.001
The Rainbow Coalition is
symbolic
00:52:52.002 --> 00:52:54.545
because we proved that it can
work,
00:52:54.546 --> 00:52:59.091
multiethnic people together
fighting for a common cause.
00:52:59.092 --> 00:53:04.014
- You\'re listening to WLPN-LP
Chicago, 105.5 FM.
00:53:05.307 --> 00:53:08.434
- You know, the whole concept of
coalition politics
00:53:08.435 --> 00:53:13.773
is what propelled us to another
level of consciousness.
00:53:13.774 --> 00:53:16.025
- Fred was saying, we didn\'t
start the movement.
00:53:16.026 --> 00:53:17.944
We\'re not gonna finish it.
00:53:17.945 --> 00:53:20.614
We\'re part of a protracted
struggle
00:53:20.697 --> 00:53:21.906
that\'s gonna continue on.
00:53:21.907 --> 00:53:22.449
- That\'s still going on, yeah.
00:53:22.450 --> 00:53:24.367
- And so we need to reenergize
ourselves
00:53:24.368 --> 00:53:26.244
and continue to struggle and go
forward.
00:53:26.245 --> 00:53:27.245
- Right on.
00:53:27.704 --> 00:53:30.123
- Bobby Lee, before he passed
away,
00:53:30.457 --> 00:53:31.833
he told me,
00:53:31.834 --> 00:53:33.836
\"If you don\'t know where to
start organizing,
00:53:35.838 --> 00:53:39.466
\"you walk to your front door and
you look in front of you,
00:53:40.843 --> 00:53:42.134
\"you look behind you,
00:53:42.135 --> 00:53:43.303
\"you look to the left, you look
to the right,
00:53:43.804 --> 00:53:45.264
and then you pick a direction.\"
00:53:51.186 --> 00:53:53.605
[train creaking]
00:53:55.274 --> 00:53:56.400
[dramatic music]
00:53:58.777 --> 00:54:00.777
♪ ♪