Event

The First Rainbow Coalition

PLEASE NOTE THAT THE SCREENING IS CANCELLED DUE TO WINTER WEATHER. PLEASE JOIN US FOR THE ONLINE WATCH PARTY FROM THE COMFORT OF YOUR OWN HOME.

On Thursday, February 20th, NorthStar, in partnership with SpiritHouse and The Hayti Heritage Film Festival, will be hosting an online watch party of the documentary, The First Rainbow Coalition.

Follow along at: https://www.facebook.com/events/222906385386775

Stream the documentary from PBS here: http://www.pbs.org/independentlens/videos/the-first-rainbow-coalition/

Creative Director, Director, Producer and all around powerhouse Durhamite, Lana Garland will host a dialogue about the film after.

ABOUT THE FILM:
In 1969, the Chicago Black Panther Party, notably led by the charismatic Fred Hampton, 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 working-class young southern whites of the Young Patriots. Finding common ground, these disparate groups banded together in one of the most segregated cities in postwar America to collectively confront issues such as police brutality and substandard housing, calling themselves the Rainbow Coalition. The First Rainbow Coalition tells the movements little-known story through rare archival footage and interviews with former coalition members in the present-day.

While the coalition eventually collapsed under duress from constant harassment by local and federal law enforcement, including the murder of Fred Hampton, it had a long term impact, breaking down barriers between communities, and creating a model for future activists and diverse politicians across America.