Red Guard Party
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Red Guard Party
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| Founded | 1969 |
| Ideology | |
| Political position | Left |
The Red Guard was a radical Chinese-American street youth organization formed in February 1969. The street youth party formed in the dusky pool halls in San Francisco's Chinatown aimed to attain adequate social services and serve as a unified front against the police brutality and oppression they faced as minorities. The Red Guard served as a pioneering revolutionary organization for the Asian American movement on the West Coast which sought to combat the model minority image and promote solidarity with other oppressed racial minorities. Though the Red Guard existed for a brief period of four years, their presence highlights the various radical critiques and responses to perceived injustices.
The Red Guard formation resulted from several societal and economic pressures combined in the late 1960s. In the late 60s, the Black Panther Party had already gained significant media and community attention for their militaristic actions and struggles for self-determination and third world solidarity, and for the opposing governmental oppression. Meanwhile, San Francisco and much of the nation was in an uproar via protesting the Vietnam War. With common place discussions on the reprehensible actions of the U.S. government in the war, Bay Area, and allowance of institutional racism, street youth organized against their own dismal circumstances.
San Francisco’s Chinatown was plagued with poverty and government negligence. The area was overcrowded with a steady supply of immigrants joining the numbers. With a dense and poverty stricken population, Chinatown offered few job opportunities and perhaps fewer signs of social mobility.This often caused the youth to target Chinese immigrants who were not born in America and even tourists in acts of violence. Not only was there economic disparity, but also incredible health concerns. Chinatown was afflicted with some of highest rate of tuberculosis in the country. For those who were healthy and did not turn to violence, the pool halls of the town existed as one of the few recreational amenities available.
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