Texas Southern University Gets First Hand Look At New Civil Rights Documentary

Houston - The Independent Lens film pop-up allowed students to watch, Ray Santisteban’s, “The First Rainbow Coalition”. This powerful yet thought-provoking piece had many question everything they knew. It brought a sense of curiosity and enjoyment to students. As the movie digressed, you saw the looks in their eyes as the excitement for learning about the Black Panthers grew! You can watch the film here: http://www.pbs.org/independentlens/videos/the-first-rainbow-coalition/.

The first rainbow coalition was formed on April 4, 1969, in Chicago, Illinois. It was founded by Fred Hampton (the Black Panther Party), William “Preacherman” Fishermen (Young Patriots), and Jose “Cha Cha” Jimenez (Young Lords). They came together to fight the wealthy big shot typhoons, the money-hungry banks, and corrupt politicians.

The film talked about how the Rainbow Coalition came to be and how the social movement made an impact on society in the low economic areas. Fred Hampton was the founder of the Black Panther. In the movie, we are introduced to him and his part of the iconic movement. He was from Chicago. He helped organize political groups made up of the youth of the community. In the movie, a lot of people talked about how Fred Hampton had a gift for organizing and speaking in front of a crowd. People looked up to him because of his charismatic and electrifying confidence that excluded through passion, through and through. He helped with many organizations like the Free Breakfast program, the People’s clinic, and the NAACP.

Also mentioned in the documentary included the inspiring and heartfelt story of Robert E. Lee. Also known as Bob Lee, who was also an organizer and founder of the original Rainbow Coalition. Bob Lee, like Fred Hampton, was also part of the Illinois chapter of the Black Panther Party. In the documentary, we learned about how he played a key part in keeping the group together and keeping the solidarity of the group together. In the documentary, everyone talked about how he inspired them and what his actions meant to them. He helped change their lives, and it was so emotional for me when they all stopped what they were doing to go and see Lee as he had recently passed in 2017. They went to visit him in Hospice, as he was dying from cancer. The founder of the Young Lords asked him about how he wanted them to keep the dream alive. He said go out and volunteer even if it’s for thirty minutes or three hours, do something that could make a change in the community.

Towards the end, they left the audience an aura of sadness for the loss but the inspiration to do something. The last words that were said to them were by another member of the coalition. He said if you wanted to ever know how to start your organization or change, the best thing to do is step out of the house. Look Left Then Right and then go from there. Meaning you can start anywhere as long as you have a dream and a mission to do good. Many students appreciated the film and what it had to offer, “There was so much about the Rainbow Coalition and Black Panthers that I didn’t know about. I’m glad I got to see the movie!” Said Trey Waddy, who is a student at Texas Southern University. Like many students, Waddy was excited and happy to be a part of history. *