Partners in Protest: The Brown Berets and the Black Panther Party

The racial landscape during the 1960s was tectonic. And similar to the tectonic shifts that birthed the hills and fertile plains of America, the civil rights movements of the 60s moved and united people, giving the world mountainous examples of how to fight for rights. Every now and then, however, they also inspired historic collaborations, mutual endeavors that leveraged unity to unearth empowerment. The partnership of the Black Panther Party and the Brown Berets is a quintessential example.

Both parties were dealing with similar issues and could’ve continued operating in parallel, and most likely would have still enjoyed many successes. However, instead of merely watching each other from across a jagged, hole-ridden racial fence, they chose to connect. Their efforts left a legacy that’s foundational to the strategies of modern-day civil rights advocates.

Origins and Missions

The Black Panther Party emerged in 1966 in Oakland, California, founded by Huey Newton and Bobby Seale. The Panthers galvanized their equality ideology into their Ten Point Program. This outlined their demands, specifically calling out a need for:

1. Freedom
2. Employment
3. An end to the capitalistic robbery of the Black community
4. Decent housing
5. Education that teaches an accurate version of Black history and current events
6. The exemption of Black men from military service because they felt they shouldn’t fight for a country that wouldn’t protect them
7. An end to police brutality
8. Freedom for Black men held in prisons and jails because they felt they hadn’t received fair trials
9. Black people to be tried by a jury composed of other Black people or those from Black communities
10. “Land, bread, housing, education, clothing, justice, and peace.”

The tenets of the 10 Point Program were like branches of a tree rooted in simple, yet revolutionary concepts: equality, justice, and opportunity regardless of racial background.

The Brown Berets were beating the same drum. They had been dealing with systemic inequalities and injustices dealt to Mexican Americans, many of which perfectly mirrored those plaguing Black communities. Police brutality, a lack of educational opportunity, and rampant discrimination were commonplace.

Inspired by the Panthers, the Brown Berets began to follow suit.

Shared Goals and Strategies

In addition to having the same high-level goals as the Black Panthers, the Brown Berets also embraced many of their tactics. Two of these included direct action and community service. In other words, instead of merely talking about and shedding light on issues, the Brown Berets, like the Black Panthers, focused their energies on taking action, often within their own communities.

For example, the Panthers held free breakfast programs for children in the community. The Brown Berets also provided free meals for members of the community. While, on the surface, these may have appeared to be charity, they also embodied a powerful statement: ‘Since the government refuses to take care of our people, we’ll do it instead.’

In this way, both the Brown Berets and the Panthers positioned themselves as stewards of the community’s welfare — providers — patriarchs, and matriarchs willing to sacrifice their time, finances, and funds for the greater good.

Another inspiration drawn from the Panthers was the need to document their principles, following the Ten Point Program model. Specifically, the Brown Berets espouse the following eight “points”:

1. The elimination of colonizers from Native lands and the power of Native people to decide who gets granted the right to reside there.
2. Spirituality, specifically rejecting what they see as imposed religions in favor of their own spiritual practices and beliefs.
3. Liberation from “US Imperialism and all European influences”
4. Solidarity with other legitimate movements that share similar principles
5. Loyalty to Brown people, their land, and their struggle
6. Embracing the cultural heritage of Brown people, specifically those of indigenous backgrounds
7. Taking power as a people to combat marginalization and disenfranchisement
8. Being revolutionaries dedicated to changing a “completely corrupt” system

Key Collaborations

The Black Panthers and the Brown Berets worked together on community projects and to support their similar causes, and this continues today. The collaboration is less about mutual support and more about helping the other party take action. 

Even now, the Brown Berets openly state they’re willing to support other movements with their resources, keeping with the same action-dominant strategy they were founded on.

One of the two groups’ more informal collaborations emerged from how they both leveraged the media to promote their ideologies. The Panthers had their own newspaper, called The Black Panther. It highlighted their activities and issues impacting the Black community. 

The Brown Berets formed a similar paper called La Causa. It shed light on many of the concerns felt throughout Chicano communities, particularly those relating to inequalities, prejudice, and the unethical treatment of Brown people.

The Panthers and the Berets simultaneously sponsoring their own newspapers may be one of the most influential “collaborations” they spawned. In this action, they both joined the ever-crucial “Fourth Estate” of the U.S.: the press. In this role, both groups worked together, using similar media, to highlight issues critical to the freedom of all Americans.

Legacy and Modern Influence

While the original Black Panther Party no longer exists, its principles live vibrantly in the minds of modern civil rights leaders. Specifically, the urgent need to take action – through community involvement and the assertion of legal rights – drives many organizations today. 

The same can be said of the Brown Berets, but the Berets are also still an active organization. Their ideologies still very much align with those of their predecessors. 

It’s important to note that there is also a New Black Panther Party that continues to exist today, but its values have shifted somewhat from those of the original Panthers. The New Black Panther Party focuses on Black nationalism beyond just fighting for the equality of Black people in the United States. They’re a Black separatist organization, and some of its members openly express hatred for other races. While some of these overarching principles of the New and original Black Panther Parties intersect, the nationalism-first message of the New Panthers doesn’t align with that of the original Panthers.

The Black Panthers and the Brown Berets: Together in the Trenches

The Brown Berets were, at least from an ideological perspective, the Brown wing of the Panthers. Though they didn’t officially unite as parties, they were united in their principles. By collaborating on and fighting for similar causes, they formed a mold for many intersectional movements today.

To support voices that focus on the same issues as the Black Panthers and Brown Berets championed, you can donate to the Charlotta Bass Lab here.