Brown Berets
The Brown Berets were a paramilitary organization founded in November 1967 by young Mexican American students in East Los Angeles. Their symbol, a brown beret with the phrase "La Causa" and crossed rifles, reflected their commitment to the Mexican American civil rights movement, known as La Raza. Led by college student David Sánchez, the group aimed to combat discrimination against Mexican Americans and advocate for social change. The Brown Berets worked on various community initiatives, including improving education, healthcare, and housing, and played a significant role in student walkouts demanding better educational resources and representation.
At their peak, they expanded to over twelve states, although they struggled to establish a national base and ultimately disbanded in 1972 due to internal conflicts and law enforcement scrutiny. Despite their challenges, the Brown Berets raised awareness about discrimination faced by Mexican Americans and contributed to efforts for community enhancement. Notably, in 1972, they seized Santa Catalina Island to protest its historical acquisition by the United States. Overall, the Brown Berets remain an important symbol of the Chicano movement and its cultural roots, aiming for equality and justice within their communities.
Brown Berets
A paramilitary organization formed by Mexican Americans in Southern California. The group sought to improve conditions in the Mexican American community and end discrimination.
Origins and History
A group of young Mexican American students living in the barrios of East Los Angeles, California, founded the Brown Berets, a paramilitary organization resembling the Black Panthers, in November, 1967. The group’s symbol was a brown beret emblazoned with the words “La Causa” (the cause) and crossed rifles superimposed on a cross. The group, led by college student David Sánchez, identified with the broader Mexican American movement, La Raza (the Mexican American, or Chicano, nation), and stressed the movement’s cultural roots in precolonial Indian societies such as the Aztec nation. The Brown Berets opposed discrimination against Mexican Americans and aggressively and actively pursued social change. Its members included street youths as well as high school and college students. The militaristic Brown Berets expanded to include chapters in more than twelve states, but the group was unable to create a national base and disbanded in 1972.
Activities
The Brown Berets worked to enrich Mexican American communities by improving school and health care facilities and housing and also sought to end police harassment of community members. The group established a free medical clinic in East Los Angeles and printed a newspaper called La Causa. In 1968, the Brown Berets supported numerous student walkouts in Los Angeles and other cities in the Southwest. In these walkouts, the students demanded better education, including courses in Mexican American history, and more Latino teachers and staff members. In 1969, the Brown Berets, along with other Mexican American organizations, participated in the National Chicano Moratorium on Vietnam.
Impact
The Brown Berets were successful in making many people aware of discrimination against Mexican Americans and in initiating some changes in their communities. However, the group’s rigid military stance threatened law enforcement and led to police infiltration of and raids on the organization that, along with internal struggles, led to the group’s disbanding.
Subsequent Events
In 1972, the Brown Berets seized Santa Catalina Island off the coast of Southern California and renamed it “Azatlán Libre.” They charged that the United States had unfairly taken the island from Mexico before the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo in 1848.
Additional Information
The Brown Berets and the Chicano movement are described in Stan Steiner’s La Raza: The Mexican Americans (1970).