The First Rainbow Coalition
independent lens

In 1969, the Chicago Black Panther Party began to form alliances across lines of race and ethnicity with other community-based movements in the city, including the Latino group the Young Lords Organization and the southern whites of the Young Patriots organization. Banding together in one of the most segregated cities in postwar America to collectively confront issues such as police brutality and substandard housing, they called themselves the Rainbow Coalition. By 1973, the coalition had collapsed under the weight of relentless harassment by local and federal law enforcement. Although short-lived, it had an outsize impact: Breaking down barriers between communities, it created a permanent shift in Chicago politics and an organizing model for future activists and politicians across the nation. The First Rainbow Coalition tells the movement's little-known story through rare archival footage and interviews with former coalition members.

Duration: 56 minutes and 46 seconds

Episode Number: 2107

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Tue, Apr 8 9:00 P.M. WE WANT THE FUNK!     NHPBS (11.1)
Wed, Apr 9 1:30 A.M. WE WANT THE FUNK!     NHPBS (11.1)
Wed, Apr 9 7:30 P.M. WE WANT THE FUNK!     NH World (11.3)
Thu, Apr 10 12:30 A.M. WE WANT THE FUNK!     NH World (11.3)
Thu, Apr 10 3:00 A.M. WE WANT THE FUNK!     NHPBS (11.1)
Thu, Apr 10 5:00 A.M. A Thousand Pines     NH World (11.3)
Thu, Apr 10 8:30 A.M. WE WANT THE FUNK!     NH World (11.3)
Thu, Apr 10 11:00 A.M. A Thousand Pines     NH World (11.3)
Sat, Apr 12 12:00 P.M. WE WANT THE FUNK!     NH World (11.3)
Sat, Apr 12 8:00 P.M. WE WANT THE FUNK!     NH Explore (11.2)
Sun, Apr 13 12:30 A.M. WE WANT THE FUNK!     NH Explore (11.2)
Mon, Apr 14 2:00 P.M. WE WANT THE FUNK!     NH Explore (11.2)
Sat, Apr 26 8:00 P.M. Three Chaplains     NH World (11.3)
Sun, Apr 27 12:00 A.M. Three Chaplains     NH World (11.3)
Tue, Apr 29 3:00 P.M. Soul Food Junkies     NH Explore (11.2)
Tue, Apr 29 10:00 P.M. Free for All: The Public Library     NHPBS (11.1)


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