Brown Berets

, flanked by Brown Berets, at a 1971 rally during the Chicano movement In 1966, a group of high school students discussed issues affecting Mexican Americans as part of the Annual Chicano Student Conference in Los Angeles County. Members were mostly in their teens and early twenties. One member recalled, "We were a group of young Chicano revolutionaries from the barrios of the Southwest fighting for the self-determination of our people." Brown Beret chapters were in 28 cities, primarily in California but also in Albuquerque, Denver, Detroit, El Paso, Milwaukee, Salt Lake City, San Antonio, St. Louis, Saint Paul, and Seattle. At the time, there were 36 chapters, most established near college and university campuses. == Activities ==

California The California Brown Berets were involved in marches, anti-war protests, and student walkouts. The group published the newspaper La Causa which included articles on national Brown Beret causes such as the United Farm Workers and the New Mexico Land Grant movement under Reies Tijerina. It was open in the evenings, providing access for working people. The Brown Berets organized the March Through Aztlán in 1971, protesting police brutality, racial discrimination, and the Vietnam War by marching one thousand miles from Calexico to the state capital in Sacramento. The health center was named after Juarez, the "Abraham Lincoln of Mexico." In 1970, the Seattle chapter supported the United Farm Workers movement with a Harvest for Peace, gathering food, clothing, and money for Christmas baskets for Yakima Valley's Chicano farm workers. The group also organized a grape boycott. In 1970, the Yakima Brown Berets chapter brought Cesar Chavez to the lower Yakima Valley. It also coordinated a five-mile march to the welfare office in Yakima to protest the abuse of the Chicanos by officials. == Women in the movement ==

Although the Brown Berets was a male-dominated organization, women members established and operated essential community institutions such as the Barrio Free Clinic, which TELACU later institutionalized. the same pig system they were against. Because of this, the resignation was something these women found fit as they felt as though they could do much better in terms of organization. This led to the creation of Las Adelitas de Aztlán. Despite the presence of sexism, the Chicana movement in the Brown Berets did empower women initially. It allowed them to express their anger towards the United States government in a way that could make a positive change. For example, many Mexican female activists took pride in their political agendas. They felt it linked each organization because of their shared common history of the working class and activism. The Brown Berets brought out women such as the poet and activist Viola Correa. Her bilingual poem titled "La Nueva Chicana" impacted the cultural revolution and empowered the movement's women: == Collaborations and influences ==

The Brown Berets took inspiration from the greater Black Power Movement in terms of self-defense and racial-pride. They were specifically modeled after the Black Panther Party and communicated with the Black Panthers in Los Angeles. Present Black Berets support ChicanX peoples with U.S. tribal membership and Mesoamerican "heritage," recognizing Chicanismo as inclusive of multiple ChicanX communities and organizations, from the California Truth & Healing Council to the Intertribal Friendship House. Central Americans, despite marching in the Chicano Movement, have only recently been recognized by ChicanX-Central American academe. Black Beret chapters have further begun to reallocate funds reserved for armed ChicanX militancy to armed "security." This designation includes, but is not limited to, law enforcement and, presumably, security detail for a variety of employers. == Uniform and insignia ==

for No on Prop 187 (1994)Members of the Brown Berets wore brown military fatigues and a brown beret. The patch features a cross topped by a brown beret with two crossed rifles on a field of gold, bordered by the color brown and topped by the words "La Causa". The color gold represents the history going back to pre-Columbian times, while the color brown represents the people. The cross symbolizes the member's beliefs, sacrifices, and commitment to the cause. The beret represents the group's organization and structure. The rifles represent the military structure of the Brown Berets. “La Causa” means "the cause" for which the Brown Berets fight. A variation of the patch was developed in the late 1970s that reads Aztlan instead of La Causa. Aztlan is the Chicanos' historical nation; those who wear this patch are committed to fighting for that nation. Another variation was developed in the late 1990s which says Olin or "movement." Autonomous or independent Brown Beret groups are the primary users of the Olin patch. Members of the Hillsboro Unit in Oregon developed an insignia that says, "Brown Berets", the only such insignia within the national organization. The Hillsboro unit is also known for wearing a Mexica War patch at armed protests or open carry Second Amendment demonstrations. == Reorganization ==

In response to escalating Chicano homicides, David Sanchez and Jeronimo Blanco reactivated the California Brown Berets in 1992 with a focus on barrio peace. A February 26, 1995 conference in Fresno, California included Brown Beret units from Fresno, Hayward, Los Angeles, Long Beach, Madera, San Diego, Sanger, Santa Rosa, Stockton, and Watsonville. In 2016, Sanchez started the Brown Berets National Party. During a session discussing the Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors Act (DREAM) at California State University, Fresno on January 6, 2011, a Brown Beret member spoke out of turn and was removed from the building by the police officers. Most of the original Oregon Brown Berets either died of old age or moved to other parts of the United States. However, in 2017, during El Grito at Shute Park in Hillsboro, Oregon, an elder Tejano-born Brown Beret was discovered by a younger unit from Portland wanting to reestablish El Movimiento in Oregon. As a result, the Hillsboro Unit has grown and was the first to reestablish militant Chicanismo in Oregon. Lobo Cuetlāchtli became captain of the group. Under his leadership, the Hillsboro Brown Berets co-formed a New Portland Rainbow Coalition, organized Know Your Rights campaigns, offered firearm and self-defense classes for brown women, and held annual day labor jacket drives. In addition, this chapter served as medics for the 50th Annual National Chicano Moratorium in August 2020, where Cuetlāchtli gave a brief speech. On August 25, 2018, the Brown Berets participated in the march for the 48th Chicano Moratorium in East Los Angeles. Many current Brown Berets organizations participated, including the National Brown Berets, Brown Berets de Aztlan, Los Brown Berets, Brown Berets of Cemanahuac, Brown Berets National Organization, and autonomous Brown Berets. In June 2020, the Salt Lake City-based Rose Park Brown Berets held extensive demonstrations calling for the resignation of the city's district attorney, Sim Gill, following the killing of Bernardo Palacios-Carbajal by the Salt Lake police department a few months prior. The Los Brown Berets held the first People's Coalition Rally in Chicago on September 24, 2022. The rally included other revolutionary organizations such as the Black Panthers, the Young Lords, the White Panthers, the American Indian Movement, the Poor People's Army, FTP-Chicago (For The People), the Chicago Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression, and other Brown Beret groups. More than 100 attendees participated to show unity from all races and solidarity about issues such as caged children. == Chapters ==