The organization which grew out of this was the original Rainbow Coalition. After that, he said “I knew then that these were my brothers and sisters and they could be trusted.”īobby communicated to Fred Hampton and Bobby Rush, leaders of the Chicago Black Panthers, the great need for a coalition for class struggle across racial boundaries. While living in Uptown he was threatened and detained in a Chicago Police car, only to be rescued by angry Southerners who demanded his immediate release. This was the beginning of the original Rainbow Coalition.īobby moved into Uptown for two weeks, living with southern whites, eating at their table, listening to their music, drinking in their bars and talking about his favorite white hero, John Brown. Bobby believed that the only difference between the poor white man and the poor black man was the color of their skin: they are both oppressed. The only difference between them and the Young Patriots and Black Panthers was that they had money to enjoy freedom, but all people are oppressed by the government, even the middle class in the end. But Bobby Lee would not have this attitude from the council and, as he never missed an opportunity to organize and educate, he explained that the Young Patriots were only trying to take care of their neighborhood people the same as they were trying to take care of theirs. We were met with hostility, called a dangerous gang, cut short and not allowed to finish our program. We told the audience that Uptown was in need of funding to fight poverty and racism and to help feed the hungry. On that night they had scheduled the Young Patriots and the Black Panthers. The council would invite different organizations in to learn of their activities and needs. I first met Bobby Lee in 1968 at a citizens’ council in Chicago`s middle class Lincoln Park community. He wanted peace, love and equality for all people. Bobby kept his identity as a Black Panther up to the end of his life. ![]() I would respond with ”Peace and love, my Black Panther brother,” because neither of us considered himself a former Panther or Patriot. ![]() “Peace and love my white panther Young Patriot brother” is how Bobby Lee would greet me every time we would talk. Portrait of Bobby Lee by Cleve Hattersey.
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