In 1969 something extraordinary happened in Chicago. Under the leadership of Fred Hampton, the Illinois Chapter of the Black Panther Party formed a coalition with the Young Patriots Organization, a group composed of poor white people from Appalachia, and the Young Lords Organization, a Puerto Rican movement. The Rainbow Coalition, as this alliance came to be known, unified members of the largest three racial groups in the United States for the common goal of improving their material conditions. The coalition founded free breakfast programmes, health clinics, transportation services and a variety of other community-led efforts. Their success attracted the attention of the FBI, and Fred Hampton was ultimately assassinated by Philadelphia police in his home later that same year.
Hampton’s coalition succeeded because its members recognized what divided them was less powerful than what united them: shared material conditions, shared exploitation and shared need. We are students attending elite — and wealthy — institutions at a unique position in our lives where we are part of a diverse community of peers hailing from vastly different backgrounds. While there is no shortage of class-stratification present at the 5Cs, we are facilitated and united by our shared life on campus. Campuses are therefore an organizing asset — one of the few remaining spaces where people across backgrounds encounter one another before economic sorting takes its hold. The question is now whether we use that critical window to build upon solidarity movements of the past, or squander it by studying these movements without recognizing how valuable they are to our modern day organizing efforts.
Throughout American history, coalition building has increased our civil liberties — not in spite of our divisions, but precisely as a result of class-oriented collective struggle. At our country’s founding, only a small portion of the American population could even vote. In the first half of the 19th century, the ideals of Jacksonian Democracy relaxed property qualifications so all white men could vote, not just the wealthiest. After the Civil War, the 15th Amendment expanded the franchise to Black men. In 1913, the 17th Amendment allowed for the direct election of senators by the citizens of the states, and six years later, the 19th Amendment expanded the franchise to women. Decades later, the Civil Rights and Voting Rights Acts reaffirmed the 15th Amendment. The pluralistic nature of American society is evident in these events, but the struggles of racial minorities and women are inextricably intertwined with class. It is clear that class struggle is written in blood in the American constitution.
America’s enduring history of pluralism, unfortunately, serves as an obstacle to the goal of forming a united working class front. The interests of the working class are split across numerous lines — racial, cultural or otherwise. The fact that it is so difficult to build this coalition is inextricably tied to what makes cross-class coalitions so powerful. Unity becomes strength when individuals who at surface level do not share anything in common are able to see past those differences and work together to enact change.
It is in the best interest of the rich and powerful that we do not form these diverse coalitions, despite our pluralistic society. Throughout history, leaders have both explicitly stated and implied that their power is a condition of our division. President Lyndon B. Johnson once said: “If you can convince the lowest white man he’s better than the best colored man, he won’t notice you’re picking his pocket.” The head of the American political elite of Johnson’s time saw how seemingly organic divisions were in reality a result of centuries of manufactured hatred for fellow humans. This divide between groups is not random or natural — it is made evident by Johnson himself that elites are incentivised to manufacture these divisions in order to prevent the working class from gaining political and economic power through coalitions.
Fred Hampton’s Rainbow Coalition elucidates the power that comes with overcoming these manufactured divisions. Originally the Black Panthers were exclusively focused on Black Americans and often labeled as hung up on a dislike of all white Americans — including the poor. Fred Hampton had to steer the movement toward a more inclusive class consciousness in order for the Rainbow Coalition to be effective.
Realistically, the only thing most of us can do to effectuate change is to organize around concrete ideals of economic justice and solidarity that are inclusive to all members of the working class. This may sound like a vague idea, but as college students, the best we can do is form community and bond with those who share our underlying goals. Whether bonding looks like joining an affinity club, another identity based organization on campus or working with groups that are fighting for political or social causes in our community, it’s important we take advantage of the opportunities for class-solidarity that this environment can give us. The nature of these activities shines a light on the difficulties with creating solidarity. It is easy to be part of a group that reflects your own identity, and much harder to join a struggle that seems far removed from the intricacies of your own personal hardships. We must, however, try to recognize that everyone else’s journey is intrinsically linked with our own.
It may seem hopeless in our current political climate and difficult to imagine a world where we coalesce. The elites seem to be able to tip the scale in favor of their preferred candidates at the federal level, and evidence of elite people interfering with government seems to be coming out every day.
This does not have to be the case at the state or county level. By definition, a mass movement begins at the bottom. If we are to challenge the elites, organization starts at the smallest scale. In reaction to a mistrust of the democratic process at the federal level, we must involve ourselves in a politics in which we can have immediate impact — starting at the politics at the local level. Fred Hampton was not a professional politician, yet he was able to forge a multi-racial working class coalition to serve people in his own community.
Rafael Hernandez Guerrero PZ ’29 is tired.
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