Young Patriots Organization
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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The Young Patriots Organization was an American left-wing organization of the 1960s and 1970s. Growing out of a Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) project called Jobs Or Income Now (JOIN), its first leaders included Doug "Youngblood" Blakey, the son of Peggy Terry; Jack "Junebug" Boykin; Bobby Joe Mcginnis; William "Preacherman" Fesperman; and Hy Thurman. Originating in the Uptown neighborhood of Chicago, the organization was designed to support young, white migrants from the Appalachia region. However membership was open to all races. With Fred Hampton of the Black Panther Party, José "Cha-Cha" Jiménez of the Young Lords Organization, the Young Patriots Organization began to form the Rainbow Coalition (unrelated to Jesse Jackson's later Rainbow/PUSH Coalition). The group's early interactions with the Black Panthers are shown in the 1969 documentary American Revolution 2. The entire Central Committee of the Young Lords were experiencing heavy police repression and were underground. It is why they are shown in only a minor role. and were not filmed in the movie.
The Young Patriots wore a rebel Confederate flag on their blue jean jackets and berets, and fought against racism. After joining the Rainbow Coalition, however, they decided to stop wearing the Confederate flag out of respect for the Black Panthers.
They participated in demonstrations against police brutality and housing discrimination. In 1971, a portion of the Young Patriots attempted to build a national organization, renamed the Patriot Party, which had no relation to the right-wing group of the same name.
See also
References
Books
- Philip S. Foner, ed. The Black Panthers Speak pp. 239–244
- Theorharis and Woodard, eds. Freedom North: Black Freedom Struggles Outside the Southpp. 54–56
- Jeffrey O.G. Ogbar Black Power: Radical Politics and African American Identitypp. 178–180
- Amy Sonnie and James Tracy Hillbilly Nationalists, Urban Race Rebels and Black Power: Community Organizing in Radical Times
